He snapped awake instantly, realizing that Cheng Yifei was looking at him—or more accurately, looking up at him from underneath.
"Whoa?!" Terrified, he scrambled up and retreated to the inner side of the bed. The quilt was pushed aside, and as the warmth vanished, he shivered from the sudden cold.
Cheng Yifei sat up and pulled the quilt back over him, lowering his voice. "You’ve been clinging to me all night, and only now you’re reacting?"
"Huh? What?!" Fei Cheng’s eyes widened as he stared blankly at Cheng Yifei, who was already putting on his clothes. Clinging all night? All night?! Had he just crawled off of Cheng Yifei’s body??
"Hurry up and get dressed, or we really will be late." Cheng Yifei climbed down, zipped up his jacket, and picked up his toiletries, giving Fei Cheng a final reminder.
Wrapped in the quilt, Fei Cheng nodded subconsciously. He scratched his hair in a daze. How exactly had he fallen asleep last night?
Yu Qing hopped down from the opposite top bunk and hollered, "Cheng-cheng, aren't you getting dressed yet? Morning study starts in ten minutes!"
"Right away!"
Fei Cheng didn't have time to overthink. He hurriedly found his clothes and put them on, swapped into his shoes, and grabbed his toothbrush and towel to head to the bathroom.
The three of them stepped into the classroom just as the bell rang, earning them a "baptismal gaze" from their homeroom teacher.
Fei Cheng let out a quiet sigh of relief once he reached his seat.
After "Big Eyes" left the classroom, Yu Qing kicked the back of Fei Cheng’s chair. "Cheng-cheng, you woke up late today~"
Fei Cheng turned around with a wooden expression. "It was freezing. I couldn't get up."
Cheng Yifei let out a short, amused huff.
Fei Cheng: "..." *Big brother, please don't do that. I'm flustered.*
Yu Qing said thoughtfully, "Oh right, you did say you don't like sharing a bed with others. Our Brother Cheng was really inconvenienced."
*WTF?*
Fei Cheng ignored Yu Qing and whispered to Cheng Yifei, "Brother Cheng, was I a bad sleeper last night? Did I startle you?"
Cheng Yifei thought about it. He had been startled, but as for being a bad sleeper... not really.
"You were quite well-behaved," he said. "Once you fell asleep and grabbed onto someone, you didn't move much."
Fei Cheng didn't dwell on the word "well-behaved." He let out a soft breath. "As long as I didn't move much. Wait, no! I don't usually hug people. It was probably—"
"I know. The quilt was thin, and you were cold." Cheng Yifei gave him a faint smile.
Fei Cheng’s words were cut off. He didn't react immediately, only nodding dully. "Right. But it didn't feel cold while I was sleeping last night."
Cheng Yifei glanced at Big Eyes outside the window. "As long as you weren't cold. Read your English and stop talking."
"Oh." Fei Cheng flipped open his vocabulary list and began reciting along with the English class representative leading the session.
As he read, he thought to himself: *We're both guys. Sleeping close because of the cold shouldn't be a problem. Besides, Cheng Yifei smells really nice. Even his quilt has a fresh, clean scent. It was actually quite comfortable?*
Morning study passed in a blur of daydreaming. It wasn't until they were eating breakfast that Fei Cheng remembered to ask, "Why did Liu Yucong and his group suddenly think of soaking my bed? Lately, I almost thought they were going to settle down."
After all, since the midterm exams, he had become something of a teacher's pet. They hadn't done anything too excessive.
Cheng Yifei’s expression was indifferent. "Probably just a flare-up of their insanity."
Yu Qing slurped down his noodles, took a sip of the broth, and asked, "Then what about Cheng-cheng's quilt? It won't dry in this weather, and it's heavy as hell now that it's soaked."
To be honest, Fei Cheng didn't know how to handle it either.
They both looked at Cheng Yifei. Cheng Yifei finished his bun unhurriedly, then looked up at them. "I don't know either. Don't ask me."
Yu Qing, speechless, downed the rest of his soup in one go. "Well, if Cheng-cheng has nowhere to sleep, he can just keep sleeping with you. Who knows what they'll pour next time? If he sleeps with you, Liu Yucong won't dare touch your stuff. It's safer. But didn't you guys find it cramped last night?"
Fei Cheng shook his head. "I don't know if it was cramped once I was asleep. I just know it felt cold before I slept, and then it wasn't cold anymore."
Yu Qing: "Well, obviously. When two people sleep together, body heat is a real thing. If the bed were wider, I'd want to sleep with you guys too."
"I refuse," Cheng Yifei and Fei Cheng said simultaneously, heads down as they ate.
Yu Qing: "Hey, you two are being excessive!"
The three of them returned to the classroom after breakfast. As they passed the playground, Yu Qing nudged Fei Cheng hard with his elbow. "Look, it's your Minmin!"
"Fuck, can you stop being so gross?" Fei Cheng said, but his eyes instinctively shifted over.
It was indeed Qiu Minmin. She was doing her duty, sweeping the designated cleaning area.
Yu Qing hooked an arm around his shoulder. "You say I'm gross, but your eyes are being very honest. How long are you going to keep up this secret crush? You should at least show some initiative. She definitely hasn't eaten breakfast since she's on duty. Come on, I'll go with you to buy some bread and soy milk. Otherwise, by the time she's done, the cafeteria breakfast will be cold."
Fei Cheng was slightly tempted, but then he reconsidered. To Qiu Minmin, his current identity was just a "Passerby A." If a random guy suddenly brought her food and drink, based on what he knew of her, she would definitely reject it and be 100% on guard.
"Forget it, don't scare her. Tsk, stop messing around! You get so excited every time you see her, people would think *you're* the one with the crush!"
Cheng Yifei suddenly chimed in, "I also think she's quite special."
"Huh?" Fei Cheng and Yu Qing stared at him, dumbfounded.
One was thinking: *No way, did my past self really have that much charm?*
The other was thinking: *Crap, what do I do if two brothers fall for the same girl?*
Yu Qing quickly moved to Cheng Yifei’s side and said solemnly, "Brother Cheng, a friend's wife is off-limits! Cheng-cheng liked her first! Look at you, you're so handsome, you could have anyone you want as a girlfriend, right?"
Fei Cheng felt that didn't sound right. "Are you saying it's hard for me to find someone because I'm ugly?"
Yu Qing shooed him away. "Can't you see I'm helping you eliminate a love rival? Move aside."
Fei Cheng laughed, revealing his small, handsome canines. "What love rival? Brother Cheng would never fall for Qiu Minmin."
"How can you be so sure?" Cheng Yifei and Yu Qing asked one after the other.
Fei Cheng froze, looking at Cheng Yifei. "..." *Are you serious?*
Would the lazy, easygoing Qiu Minmin be liked by the ambitious, disciplined Cheng Yifei?
Seeing the atmosphere turn awkward, Yu Qing quickly tried to smooth things over. "Come on, guys. Brother Cheng, look how you've scared Fei Cheng."
Cheng Yifei took another look at Fei Cheng’s face and said slowly, "Thinking someone is special doesn't mean I like them."
Fei Cheng’s expression relaxed. He knew that during this period, Qiu Minmin actually liked Cheng Yifei. If Cheng Yifei really liked her back, then... what kind of development would that be?!
Impossible. It was surely just a fleeting adolescent interest that would vanish quickly!
If Cheng Yifei had really, really liked Qiu Minmin, he wouldn't have stayed silent in their past life. From these few months of being with him, Fei Cheng knew Cheng Yifei wasn't the type to give up before even starting.
Yu Qing breathed a sigh of relief and went back to draping his arm over Fei Cheng’s shoulder, rambling on. "You should at least buy her a bottle of Nutrition Express. Cheng-cheng, how can you be so stingy!"
"Me, stingy? So all those Cokes I bought you were fed to a dog?"
"What's a Coke? Get a bottle of Nutrition Express. Give me two bottles, and I'll help you deliver one to Qiu Minmin."
"If I'm going to give her something, I'll do it myself. Why would I need you?"
"Aren't you thin-skinned? Hey, I'll tell her who it's from. Don't worry, I definitely won't use my own name."
The two of them bickered as they walked up the steps. Cheng Yifei looked back at Qiu Minmin, who was sweeping and chatting with her classmates. She was... a bit cute?
Did Fei Cheng really need to like her that much?
He didn't understand.
He withdrew his gaze and continued walking.
While Yu Qing was distracted looking at other girls, Fei Cheng glanced back at Qiu Minmin, only to lock eyes with her as she was secretly watching Cheng Yifei. Qiu Minmin immediately looked away. Fei Cheng blinked, then suddenly smiled.
Adolescent love really was so shy and innocent.
Cheng Yifei knew Fei Cheng had just been looking at Qiu Minmin. Was he really that happy? Just from catching a glimpse of her on the road? He still didn't understand; he felt like he was missing something when it came to emotions. What did it feel like to like someone? Was it like Fei Cheng, grinning like he’d won the lottery just by seeing her?
How was that different from being an idiot?
Qiu Minmin waited a good while before she dared to look up again, pretending to casually glance in the direction Cheng Yifei had gone.
She had been caught red-handed by that guy next to Cheng Yifei. How embarrassing. He probably didn't realize, right?
The girl next to Qiu Minmin leaned in. "Minmin, did you see? That was Cheng Yifei. No matter how many times I see him, I still think he's so handsome. Tall, cool, smart, and so clean-cut—not like those other gross boys! He feels exactly like the male lead from that novel *The Aloof School Grass Falls for Me*. Don't you think?"
Qiu Minmin imagined it and shivered. "Wake up. He's not even that aloof."
"No way, how is he not aloof? He doesn't talk to anyone. Have you ever seen him smile? Every time I see him, he has that expressionless face. But..." The girl lowered her voice and whispered excitedly into Qiu Minmin’s ear, "The more expressionless he is, the handsomer I think he is!"
Qiu Minmin: "..."
She feigned indifference and asked, "By the way, who are those two people who are always with him?"
"Yu Qing and Fei Cheng."
"Which one is Yu Qing and which one is Fei Cheng?"
"The shortest of the three, the one who looks very delicate and harmless, with the cute canines when he smiles—that's Fei Cheng. You don't know him?! Did you forget the people who had to apologize during the flag-raising ceremony at the start of the term? It was because they beat him up! I never heard he was good at studying before, but in this midterm, he jumped straight to 11th in the entire grade. All three of them went up to receive awards! You seriously didn't know?" The girl looked at Qiu Minmin in shock, then added, "I know, I know, you usually don't pay attention to these things. What a pity, you're missing out on so many good-looking guys."
Qiu Minmin hummed in response, thinking to herself: *I was too busy looking at Cheng Yifei back then, how would I have time to notice anyone else!*
That Fei Cheng... she seemed to see him often. He couldn't possibly know she was peeking at Cheng Yifei, could he? Σ( ° △°|||)︴
Ah! How humiliating!
She’d better stop peeking from now on!!
For the rest of the week, Fei Cheng squeezed into Cheng Yifei’s bed to sleep. His solid cotton quilt, which had soaked up so much water, had nowhere to be dried in the dormitory. Consequently, it remained damp and heavy until Friday, feeling like it weighed a thousand pounds—impossible for one person to even lift.
