CH 42

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: KarateChopMonkey, defender of the night

Gu Ang looked at him dizzily, thinking everything was good about the man. Even for an ordinary classmate like himself, it was too good to be true, “Ye Fei.”

“Hmm?”

“Ye Fei.”

“What is it?”

“Ye Fei…” Gu Ang trailed off, fingertips wiggling around, “How did you become two?”

Ye Fei had no choice but to control the shaking man, grasping his fingers into his hands again without a trace, “You’ve had a lot to drink, the after effect was bound to appear soon.”

“Oh, they poured me too much.” Gu Ang tilted his head, looked up at the endless starry sky, and said quietly, “You’re still the best to me, you don’t get me drunk, and you help me drink.”

Ye Fei returned good-naturedly, “You finally know I’m good to you.”

Gu Ang nodded, and shook his head, “I don’t deserve it, you’ve been too good to me.”

It was about the strength of his drink that his words tore off that mask of falsehood and spilled his heart with every word.

Ye Fei was struck by these words, and a pang of pain shot through him, “Don’t say that, you’re fine and you deserve it.”

Gu Ang rolled Adam’s apple for a long time before saying slowly, “I’m not good, I screwed everything up.”

Whether it was Bai SiNing’s untimely death, his mother’s suicide, or his own love, none of them could be saved by seizing the opportunity, and ended up as a crumb of glass that was bloody when stepped on.

Ye Fei returned implicitly, “All have the opportunity to do those bad things one by one.”

Gu Ang closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, “Mn, I hope so.”

Ye Fei squeezed the soft fingertips in his hand, “Gu Ang, what did you wish for on your birthday?”

“Interstellar peace.” Gu Ang was half asleep, “Wishes don’t work if you say them, I made an exchange with the gods and it would surely come true.”

Ye Fei could actually guess that those wishes of his were nothing but regrets from the past. He was an atheist and really wished there was a god at this moment, and he was willing to double up on whatever Gu Ang wanted to trade for it.

A star twinkled in the distance, as if the gods had winked and given a response. Neither spoke in this silence, comfortably enjoying the peace.

The mecha shook and the gift bag Gu Ang was carrying slipped out, dropping the small box from Bai SiNing. Gu Ang picked it up with downcast eyes, fiddled with his fingertips, and unwrapped the box. Inside a bunch of flowery sleeves were scattered throughout the seats and it was spectacular to look at.

Gu Ang scrambled to grab it and stuff it into the box, not even daring to look at Ye Fei’s expression, “Bai SiNing this fool, and really send 18 plus items.”

Ye Fei laughed lightly, “Do you need it?”

Gu Ang stammered, “No, won’t use it.”

Ye Fei didn’t say another word, just helped him pick up the last peach-flavored condom and tucked it into his hand. 

We’ll use them eventually.

The two made a large loop in the star track before returning to the surface. Ye Fei placed the mecha before calling the man who had fallen asleep.

Gu Ang was drowsy, “Don’t want to move.”

“Go back to sleep.” Ye Fei reached out to pull him.

Gu Ang grabbed his hand with great force, “Don’t, sleep.”

“Can I carry you?”

“Yeah.”

Ye Fei turned his back and brought the man towards him, “Cuddle up, don’t fall.”

“Mn, grabbed and ready to sail.” Gu Ang hooked his neck and buried his head in it, childishly returning.

The two walked back slowly through the moonlight when Gu Ang snapped his head up, “I forgot one more important thing.”

Ye Fei pawed the man and asked, “What?”

Gu Ang ground his teeth, “After the Games, I’ll beat up Bai SiNing.”

The next day was the weekend, and Gu Ang woke Ye Fei up early in the morning, full of thoughts about teaching Bai SiNing a lesson. Ye Fei was speechless, he didn’t remember so many things he had done last night, but he was thinking about this, how deep was his grudge?

The two had breakfast and went straight to Bai SiNing’s place off campus to catch a fish in a jar. Only, just as he reached the door, he felt something was wrong; the door was hidden and appeared to be open.

Did something happen to Bai SiNing?

Gu Ang and Ye Fei looked at each other, both reading this message in the other’s eyes. In an instant, the two displayed an extremely synchronized silent understanding.

Without half a moment’s hesitation, Gu Ang took two steps back, and then the entire person was like a hunter who directly broke into the door, while Ye Fei was close to Gu Ang’s back to prevent a sneak attack from behind after breaking into the door. Only, the room was empty, even the furniture was neatly arranged and showed no signs of having been struggled with. Considering this was near Red Flame, the odds of Bai SiNing being kidnapped were low, and Ye Fei was relieved.

“My guess was that he just left in a hurry and forgot to close the door.”

“Bai SiNing, this guy, he’s quite lucky.” Gu Ang glanced at Ye Fei and gave a light laugh, “Knowing it was coming to a reckoning, he fled.”

“Wait.” Ye Fei pointed to the dumplings still steaming on the stove top and continued, “He left so suddenly and in such a hurry, he should have received some kind of message.”

“Forget it, I’ll call him and ask what’s going on, maybe we can help him out.” Gu Ang’s heart floated with worry, if something really happened, it would be too late to regret. He thought back carefully on the timeline of his last life, and while he couldn’t confirm exactly when Bai SiNing had undergone the drastic change, it would have been before his sophomore year of college.

The butterfly effect, it wasn’t so fast.

Ye Fei grimaced, gave a sudden laugh, and wordlessly pulled back a stool, sitting down.

Gu Ang turned back with a wrinkled brow, “What’s wrong?”

Ye Fei raised the note in his hand, “Playing hide-and-seek with Student Bai.”

“…What does that mean?”

Ye Fei leaned gracefully against the back of his chair and passed the note in front of Gu Ang.

Gu Ang dropped his eyes and the note was so crooked that it hurt to read.

“Brother Ang, God Ye, if you guys see this note, that means I live, ahahahaha! Arrogant face and crossed arms. I knew you guys were going to come and settle the score with me afterwards, I was going to just walk away and see you in class, but Lin was right, sooner or later this kind of thing has to come to an end, dare you make a bet with me? If you don’t break into his base and take me out within an hour after you see this note, we’ll forget about what happened before. Relatively speaking, if you find me, then kill me or die with me without complaint. ps. there’s a map on the back of the note, oh :)”

Gu Ang turned the note over, and sure enough, it was Bai SiNing;s drawing of a crooked map. This ability to draw maps really should come with encryption.

Gu Ang stammered, “It’s different when you have a backer. You even know how to talk about conditions.”

Ye Fei stood up and took a big step towards the door, “We have nothing to do on the weekend, so let’s play with him.”

A personal vendetta had turned into a two-sided war, and he was, of course, on Gu Ang’s side.

“Wait for me, Ye Fei,” said Gu Ang, tearing the note in his hand to shreds before turning around and chasing after him.

Gu Ang felt offended by his lieutenant. Bai SiNing, who was so skinny, needed to be “groomed”, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to take on the duties of a lieutenant. Trying to escape? They both must catch the man and beat him up. Gu Ang already had the punching position in his head. Didn’t he have to train to increase his fitness? The sandbag was there.

Ye Fei looked at the shredded paper, “Tear it up? Bai SiNing’s ghostly charm can even be read?”

“Sure, keep it in your head.” Gu Ang replied casually.

“Lead the way.” Ye Fei nodded slightly.

… 

Somewhere else, Bai SiNing and Lin XiuYong were sitting leisurely in the surveillance room, sipping black tea and enjoying the delicate snacks.

“XiuYong, they really went to my house as you expected!” Bai SiNing swallowed his mouth full of popcorn in one gulp and pointed to the image above monitor three with excitement.

Lin XiuYong pulled out his tissue and wiped the white cheese left in the corner of his mouth while saying faintly, “Inputting Gu Ang’s past behavior into the quantum optical computer for analysis, and then working with the school-wide surveillance to calculate the route and speed of travel for both of them… All within my estimation.”

“Thanks, thanks.” Bai SiNing was a little overwhelmed by the gentle wiping motion that would hit his mouth, and held his mouth for half a day, his little face flushed.

Lin XiuYong folded the tissue and placed it on the table, and without speaking, he brought up the coffee in front of him intending to drink it while it was hot. Bai SiNing looked at Lin XiuYong in front of him, elegantly holding the white porcelain coffee cup with slender fingers, all in a black shirt, looking noble and aloof. Inexplicably, he was kind of cool?

Bai SiNing slapped his head and pressed his heartbeat back, “You’re so awesome, Lin XiuYong, to be able to hack into the monitors in the common areas of the school with such ease.” With a careful pat on the back, Bai SiNing continued to ask, “But do you think they’ll both really accept the challenge? With such a simple provocation, I think Brother Ang might just jump, and God Ye certainly won’t accept it. Ah, so, I’ll still be stormed.”

Here, Bai SiNing lost his face. Had he known the consequences of posting that set of photos were so tragic, he would have enjoyed them alone.

Lin XiuYong nodded, “Gu Ang acts impulsively without fear of challenge, Ye Fei plots but rather listens to Gu Ang. Coupled with the fact that their opponent is you, they are both fearless.”

“The opponent’s me… How many times do you mean to use that mocking tone, looking down on someone?”

Lin XiuYong put away his glasses and lifted his eyes to look at the person, “Only looking down on you.”

Bai SiNing: “…Lin XiuYong, although it’s true, can we be a little more subtle in our words?”

The two were fighting when Lin XiuYong suddenly put his coffee cup on the table and his entire body stood up.

“Here they come.”

Bai SiNing had a question mark on his face.

“Where did that come from? Clearly the monitors show that the two men haven’t been seen since they entered that building.”

“Pig brain.” Lin XiuYong quickly stepped in front of the 5×5 combination light screen and said without turning his head while his hands kept tapping the control keyboard. “With the ability analysis models I’ve done on both of them, within two minutes, they would absolutely leave your apartment and appear on camera. Now ten minutes have passed and they still haven’t shown up, which can only mean that I was able to view them through the monitors and they deliberately avoided them to start their operation.”

Bai SiNing let out a wow, “That’s awesome, oh, you can figure out so much.”

Lin XiuYong enjoyed being praised, “Which means that this move bought them a full seven minutes.”

“Wouldn’t that put me in danger?” Bai SiNing was in a bit of a panic when he heard that he had bought seven minutes of time with just a tiny gesture. Fuck, he shouldn’t have provoked those two monsters, he might as well just take a good beating.

The cold voice continued to speak, “It’s only seven minutes, don’t worry, I have it all under control.”

Bai SiNing looked to the back of the black shirt and felt almost like God was glowing. Lin XiuYong really felt so fucking awesome, oh.

Ten minutes later, Gu Ang and Ye Fei were standing at the front door of Lin XiuYong’s lab.

Gu Ang rubbed his chin and surveyed the area, “That’s rich, such a big building.”

Ye Fei didn’t get a feel for the man for the moment and responded, “Pulled sponsorship, I guess.”

“Forget it, let’s do the business. How about we both split up. I’ll break through from the front, you climb straight up the outside to the top floor and search from the top down?” Gu Ang counted six floors of the building.

Ye Fei raised his eyes, “Lin XiuYong is much smarter than Bai SiNing, splitting up would slow things down, not to mention…” He paused and continued, “The building has only five floors above ground, what if we split up and search and you go in and find a basement?”

“Makes sense.” Gu Ang nodded, “Engaging in a little escape room game, ah, these two really have nothing to do.”

He could even brainstorm that Bai SiNing was sitting next to Lin XiuYong with that dog-licking grin. Why does it feel like he’s been abducted when he was obviously his lieutenant?

As soon as the two walked through the lab doors, they saw that there were five paths leading to different areas inside. Damn, why was this lab built like a maze?

“Let’s go, one person a way, and we’ll rendezvous here by ourselves every five minutes.” Gu Ang was about to walk forward when he was suddenly stopped by Ye Fei.

“No need to go to that trouble. Going along with his thinking, wouldn’t that be a trap?” Ye Fei swept him with a slight narrowing of his eyes, “Aren’t you the best at violence? Try throwing a punch.”

Gu Ang oh-so-slowly moved his wrist and slammed his fist into the ground. The fist touched the ground, and the entire building shook slightly with the punch.

Ye Fei mentally sucked in a breath: “…”

The guy’s strength was now, really, a bit exaggerated. But after a loud bang, the floor didn’t change much.

Gu Ang noticed something was wrong, too.

There was no way a normal lab could have such high protection, but when he punched it, there wasn’t even a dent, and he kind of doubted life.

“Better to go in honestly, maybe he underestimated our strength?” Since being tested and acknowledged by Jiang RuiYuan, Gu Ang was confident in his form.

“There’s no need for that.” With that, Ye Fei pulled out a high power EMP gun directly from his pocket and pulled the trigger continuously at the floor. 

Boom!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!

The originally gapless floor was broken by Ye Fei’s gun and a huge hole was made.

Gu Ang: “…Why would you carry around such a high energy weapon? What kind of fist would you let me use with a gun?”

Besides, we’re just messing around, was it really okay for you to punch through someone’s lab floor without saying a word?

Ye Fei put his gun away, “Not for nothing, a punch can sense over the building’s seismic level through vibration, and by the way, it detects if there are hidden floors under the floor.”

As an afterthought he asked in worry, “Does your hand hurt?” 

Gu Ang touched the back of his hand, softened by the sudden tenderness, “Kinda.”

“So do we bet on going up or down now?”

Looking underground at the apparently secret subterranean level, Gu Ang was also a little unsure. It was a psychological game. In the event of a sudden discovery of a subterranean level, most normal people would choose to go down. Because it was hidden, it was purposely hidden not to be found. But what if Lin XiuYong did the opposite and was upstairs on purpose?

“Victory, never through gambling.”

With that, Ye Fei raised his hand straight up and pulled the trigger right at the ceiling.

Gu Ang glanced at Ye Fei, who was aiming his gun, his jaw crumbling into a stern line, his eyes tinged with determination and confidence. The man who was in complete control of the big picture seemed to be back. Only this time, there was no sign of movement left in the ceiling.

“Upwards.” Ye Fei’s tone was very confirming.

The upward protection was so thorough that Lin XiuYong had calculated that they would advance by some unconventional means. So in advance, the unconventional breakthrough path was blocked right off, ensuring that the two of them could only break through one level and move up.

“Go!” Gu Ang naturally understood and didn’t ask much.

The two men sprinted towards two of the three passages. One stairway down, one stairway up, one dead end. Without hesitation, the two walked together, stepping into the second level together. The second level was easier for Gu Ang and Ye Fei.

Dozens of robots armed with electromagnetic paralyzing guns were already in full gear, forming a circle around the empty floor, seemingly awaiting the arrival of the two.

Gu Ang glanced at Ye Fei next to him and suddenly smiled, “Want to make a bet?”

“Say it.”

“There are thirty-three robots here, and whoever solves the lesser number would grant the other a wish within their power.”

“Okay.”

It was supposed to be a joke, and a wish for nothing was kind of a surprise. Ye Fei stared and had Gu Ang help him grant his wish, which was well worth the battle. The two men talked and the first round of flak had arrived. It was just mechanized spotting, which was really easy for a five-star Admiral. The two men pressed their strengths in a heartfelt manner and began to sweep against the droids. Swinging your fists and moving your feet, and kill one in a second. It only took five minutes for the two to almost wipe them out.

One last one left… 

Ye Fei thought about that wish, and he wanted it badly.

So, he reached over and pinned Gu Ang’s shoulder from behind, and went over with a side kick, popping the last robot.

“Let go, you’re really putting up a fight.” Gu Ang broke the hands that imprisoned him, “Honoring the bet, what do you want to wish for?”

Ye Fei ticked the corner of her mouth, “Save it for the next level.”

Just after reaching the third floor, a huge chess board was placed throughout the room.

“Not bad for God Ye and Brother Ang to be able to reach this floor so quickly.” Bai SiNing’s voice rang out in the room. He spoke to the two over the radio, “The requirement for this floor is chess, and if you can beat me, Lin XiuYong, you would get the key to the next floor. Which one of you is coming?”

Gu Ang couldn’t help but taunt, “Bai SiNing, you can just hide behind the horn and play dead.”

“I’ll do it.”

Ye Fei remained on cloud nine.

Gu Ang stepped back, “He’s going.”

The two had played chess before, and Ye Fei had crushed them on almost all fronts. Gu Ang wasn’t f-blowing, but he really hadn’t seen anyone who could match his dog ex-husband at chess. The man was just too perfect and unbroken to be interesting.

“Come on.” The voice switched to Lin XiuYong, and then the pieces on the huge board began to move.

The two began to play against each other, Ye Fei was calm and collected. Quickly, it killed Lin XiuYong without leaving him behind. With a clatter, a pass key fell in front of Ye Fei’s body.

Gu Ang smiled arrogantly, “This break-in setup of yours didn’t work, it was too easy.”

Lin XiuYong praised coldly, “It’s mainly because he’s better.”

Bai SiNing muttered in a small voice from the side, “Hey, why are you still praising your opponent?! Foster the arrogance of others.”

Gu Ang retorted across the speakers, “It would have been awesome. Bai SiNing, wait to get beaten up.”

“Go.” The victory was a deserved one, Ye Fei didn’t have any half-hearted fluctuation in his expression, easily moved his foot, hooked the key on the ground and flew in mid-air, casually catching the key with his hand and took the lead towards the next level.

Gu Ang whistled, not mincing words, “You’re awesome.”

The rest of the floor wasn’t too difficult, and the two of them combined their efforts to push straight across all the way.

Soon, as the timer read fifty-nine minutes, Gu Ang and Ye Fei kicked open the door to the lab’s surveillance room at the same time.

At the moment Bai SiNing and Lin XiuYong were sitting opposite each other and were drinking coffee together.

“Little brat, still running or not?” Gu Ang grabbed Bai SiNing with a fierce expression, “Be good and wait for the reckoning this time.”

“You’re quite an interesting person, thanks for giving us a pleasant weekend.” Ye Fei also looked meaningfully at Lin XiuYong, who was mixing coffee, and said lightly.

Lin XiuYong took a sip of his coffee and spoke slowly, “Think about it for a moment, have I been hinting at you constantly from the first level, up and up…”

Before the words left his mouth, Ye Fei immediately reacted, leaving Gu Ang behind and rushing straight out of the surveillance room and starting to dash downstairs.

Gu Ang was a bit dumbfounded. Why run? Didn’t they find Bai SiNing?

Lin XiuYong continued, “From the first level up was true, the second level had an ordinary fight passed into the next level, then the chess victor could enter the next level… I’m constantly psyching you guys out to convert the concept of “finding Bai SiNing” into “reaching the topmost level”, but our game was ultimately about finding Bai SiNing.”

Gu Ang gave a firm squeeze with his hand before he felt something wrong with Bai SiNing’s touch. Fuck, it was a Bai SiNing simulacrum! The real Bai SiNing, on the other hand, wasn’t here.

Lin XiuYong had really gone to great lengths to get Bai SiNing to avoid the whacking of the two.

Gu Ang looked up and saw the screen, on the third chess floor. The king and queen belonging to Ye Fei’s pieces suddenly fall head over heels, revealing the faces of Bai SiNing and Lin XiuYong. The two of them have been hiding in Ye Fei’s chess pieces all along!

As long as Lin XiuYong took care not to topple Ye Fei’s king and queen, then there was absolutely no chance of them being exposed.

It turned out that Lin XiuYong, from the very beginning, had no intention of winning against Ye Fei… On the screen monitor, Gu Ang saw Ye Fei arrive on the third level as well. But by this time, the end-of-time ringer had resounded throughout the building.

Fuck, I can’t believe I lost.

Gu Ang ground his teeth, all right, he was willing to bet.

Bai SiNing was so skinny, it should be easy to find an opportunity to beat him up next time. Gu Ang loosened his buckle and smiled to Bai SiNing, who was still inside the chess piece, through the monitor, as he saw Lin XiuYong, “You see, that seven minutes, too, was within my calculations.”

—

Since the day he escaped the beating, Bai SiNing had been quiet for a few days, afraid to mess with people. He should take what he got when he got it, after all, he was still a certified CP fan. Bai SiNing was busy taking care of the Luminous CP support group every day, and the group was chanting slogans to the hilt.

At first Gu Ang resisted, but later he went along with it. Fast forward to the end of the semester, classes were loosening up a bit, and everyone was starting to get into their final exam review.

The final exam was a written test, and in addition to some history of the war that had to be memorized, there would be an arithmetic test involving mecha construction calculations of a sort, and the entire school went into a state of panic.

But this nervous group didn’t include the once five-star Admirals.

The quartet, on a temporary hiatus, sat in the cafeteria to eat, and Bai SiNing frowned and asked, “How are you guys doing with your revision?”

Lin XiuYong didn’t even raise his head, concentrating on eating, “It’s really easy. Do you still need to review?”

Gu Ang and Ye Fei shook their heads at the same time, “No need.”

“Holy shit, six classes and no focus drawing, I feel like I’m dead.” Bai SiNing couldn’t even eat his meal, “Don’t you people even read books?”

Lin XiuYong pulled a piece of paper and helped him wipe the soup spilled on the table, “Don’t swear.”

Bai SiNing choked, “Lin XiuYong, you… You have good knowledge?”

“Mn, how else do you think I got into Red Flame?” Lin XiuYong, who hadn’t been wearing his glasses much lately, pushed upwards with his fingertips out of habit, only to realize that he’d nudged his brow and put his hand back down.

Ye Fei rationalized, “He should theoretically pull a lot of points by getting into Class A.”

Gu Ang smiled and ate his food, “Bai, you’re asking the wrong person. Those here should all easily get full marks.”

Gu Ang used to be a dud, but with the later and a few years of real combat, that stuff was indeed child’s play for him now. Ye Fei, not to mention, had opened up his life and was doing everything to the best of his ability. As for Lin XiuYong… He was the invincible king of knowledge.

At this moment, the king bragged with an expressionless face, “If the score wasn’t capped, you could get a hundred, Gu Ang can get five thousand, and Ye Fei can get ten thousand. In my case… Fifty thousand, I guess.”

Ye Fei: “…Tsk, praising yourself.”

Lin XiuYong raised his eyebrows, “Shouldn’t complimenting yourself blow everyone away?”

Bai SiNing almost choked on the bun in his mouth, “Sounds like everyone’s really awesome!”

Gu Ang was upset, “Why should I be five thousand if you’re 50,000…”

“You’re muscular and simple-minded.” Lin XiuYong hit the nail on the head.

Ye Fei couldn’t hold back his laughter, but still helped to find a complement, “Gu Ang’s knowledge is pretty good, you underestimate him.”

“Exactly.” Gu Ang was in a happier mood and proceeded to drink his soup with glee.

Bai SiNing grasped for a lifeline, “Guys, let’s review together in the next few days, I’m really vain and don’t want to fail the first semester.”

Lin XiuYong nodded, “Okay.”

After eating, several people went back to Bai SiNing’s house to prepare for revision, but the only one who was really reading intensely was Bai SiNing.

Gu Ang pulled Ye Fei down on the couch to play a game online, while Lin XiuYong stared at the electronic screen he carried around, tapping away at the virtual keyboard.

The battle in the game was fierce, Gu Ang touched Ye Fei with his elbow, “Come over here for support, I can’t carry my side anymore.”

Ye Fei curved the corners of her mouth a little, feeling the intimate distance between them, “Okay, coming right up.”

A bomb burst on the screen and Ye Fei rushed into Gu Ang’s battle group and they killed the camp together.

In five seconds, though, the screen displayed two big words, “Victory.”

“This game was passable, no fun.” Gu Ang slumped on the couch and glanced at Bai SiNing who was frantically copying notes, “Is there anything else to play at your house?”

Bai SiNing looked up bitterly, “You two are making a lot of noise. Where’s the book you said you’d read together?”

“Think we’re noisy?” Gu Ang lazily got up and came around behind him, glancing at the draft, “Wrong formula.”

“Where… Where is it wrong? I did the math as per the example.” Bai SiNing was bewildered.

Gu Ang casually picked up his pen and scribbled, and in no time had written a large draft.

He lazily pushed the paper over, “Step two was wrong.”

“Fuck, I’m screwed.” Bai SiNing fell into despair, “I can’t continue to be classmates with you guys next semester, what should I do?”

Lin XiuYong withdrew his attention from the screen and turned his head to look at him, “I’ll review with you.”

“Lin XiuYong, you can’t save him, really.” Gu Ang handed down an early death sentence.

Lin XiuYong watched Bai SiNing’s little face scrunch up into a frown and his heart softened, “I’ll try it.”

Gu Ang deflated and wandered to the kitchen to pour two glasses of water, taking it back and handing one to Ye Fei.

“I’ve discovered the virtues of Lin XiuYong, compassion for all beings.”

Ye Fei leaned over and spoke close to his ear, “Fool, don’t you see?”

“See what?” Gu Ang’s ears tingled a little at the hot breath that was exhaled.

Ye Fei moved without moving, resting his elbows on his knees and bending his legs, leaning a little closer to him.

The voice almost became an airy tone as it slowly exhaled into his ears, “He likes Bai.”

Gu Ang turned his head sideways and met his eyes, “??? Why didn’t I see that?”

Ye Fei sighed inwardly, What do you see? I like you so much, do you see that?

When Ye Fei didn’t say anything, Gu Ang asked quietly, “What’s the point? That fool, besides being cute and lively, has no other merits.”

Ye Fei caught the key word, “You think he’s cute?”

“Also… Pretty cute, huh? Round eyes, just like a pet cat.”

Ye Fei shook his head, “I don’t think so.”

“So who do you think is cuter?” Gu Ang looked at him.

Ye Fei’s word “you” was about to come out, when he turned it around, “You, when you’re quiet.”

A cold sweat ran down his back as he thought of Gu Ang hammering through the machine. Gu Ang’s ears reddened a little and he oh-so-quietly stopped talking. He fiddled with the neck ring around his neck with his fingertips, tugging it around for fun.

“Forget it, I give up.” Lin XiuYong moved away from Bai SiNing, “Cheat it, it can’t be saved.”

“How can a well-behaved student like me cheat? What if I get caught?” Bai SiNing glared.

Lin XiuYong pulled the corner of his mouth, “Then you should wait to fail the course.”

Bai SiNing was torn for a moment, “So passing notes? A’ang, God Ye, which one of you was better at passing notes? I’m counting on you!”

Bai SiNing said while balling up a piece of paper, “Brother Ang, I’ll sit in front of you, so you can just roll it along the ground like this when you get there, make sure to aim for the spot.”

“Passing a note? Aren’ you afraid of getting caught?” Gu Ang stomped on the note he threw at him and snickered, “Can’t you have a little high-tech cheating?”

Ye Fei raised his chin, “Please, for Lin XiuYong, who developed so many little things, it’s really easy.”

Bai SiNing was super thick-skinned and turned his head and rushed at Lin XiuYong, hugging him, “Dad, help me!”

Lin XiuYong: “…”

Gu Ang whistled with a look of amusement.

Lin XiuYong pondered for a few seconds and quickly came up with a solution, “Two sets of equipment, one set of miniature headset for each person. With a finger tap on the desktop, it can transmit messages for communication.”

“The other one is projecting our exam paper onto your paper, you align it and just copy it as it is.”

Bai SiNing’s mouth was open for a long time before he looked back, “Bull! This sure is a lot more bullish than passing a note.”

Lin XiuYong looked at Bai SiNing who was still holding himself and coughed lightly, “It’s just that the projection distance is limited, so you can only get Ye Fei or Gu Ang’s paper answers to you. I’m in class A and I’m too far away from you.”

Bai SiNing looked at the other two and greedily said, “How about you both project your papers to me and I synthesize the answers?”

“You’re kinda greedy, whatever.” Gu Ang stood up and moved his fingers, “Our review plan, then, was declared aborted.”

They were supposed to accompany Bai SiNing, and now that they had made up their minds to cheat, a few of them were ready to withdraw.

Bai SiNing’s eyes were filled with tears, “A few big brothers have shown great kindness. I, Bai SiNing, will remember it.”

For the next few days, Gu Ang and Ye Fei stayed in the dormitory and didn’t go out much.

Ye Fei would still occasionally go out at night while Gu Ang was asleep to do clan quests and rush to take all the points they could. Shortly after the final exams, they were going to another planet to get the Games rewards, so the only thing they lacked was probably the skills.

Bai SiNing was more than happy, he didn’t need to review, and followed Lin XiuYong every day to watch him study those equipment, like a little tail.

The days flew by and it was finals day. Bai SiNing cheated for the first time and became a nervous fool, shaking incessantly. Several people wore headphones for insurance purposes, just in case. The seats in the classroom were all pulled apart, single seats, for fear that someone might steal an answer.

Gu Ang and Ye Fei both looked across the aisle at each other, both looking like they had a good idea of what to expect.

Wang Chuang came in with the papers for the first exam, “At nine o’clock sharp, we start today’s exam. I hope everyone has studied well and gotten a good grade. By the way, knowing that Red Flame is a military school, most people are stronger in combat and weaker in theory. If you guys are going to cheat, do a good job of being smart and don’t get caught by me.”

Bai SiNing was a thief, shaking and typing on his desk, “It’s over, it’s over! Would we be found out?”

Next door Lin XiuYong returned, “Not if you’re not a fool.”

Gu Ang watched Bai SiNing in front of him shaking his shoulders and said speechlessly, “Bai, don’t shake, you’re too obvious. Be more psychological.”

Right on time Wang Chuang sat next to Bai SiNing and gave him a look, “What’s shaking?”

Bai SiNing had a miserable face, “Nervous.”

“Usually if you don’t revise, you can only cry after the exam.” Wang Chuang said with disgust, “I’d like to see which students usually don’t listen well to the class, you all got the papers, and now you can open them.”

Gu Ang unwrapped the volume and flipped it over for a general skim. Unsurprisingly, it was all retarded elementary school questions. He yawned, uncapped his pen, and started quickly down the line from the first question. At this level of difficulty, he should be able to finish answering the exam paper early.

Bai SiNing spread out the paper and fixed it at a distance of three centimeters close to himself as Lin XiuYong had told him to do, and sure enough two answers with similar handwriting slowly emerged one after another.

Overlapping were projections of Ye Fei and Gu Ang’s rolls. Both did the questions at about the same speed and with the exact same answers, there was basically no hesitation. All he had to do was trace the answer with a pen as it was.

Bai SiNing sighed in his heart, this was probably the easiest exam he had ever experienced in his life, no need to use his brain, easy and pleasant. The more he copied, the happier he became, even shaking his legs happily, sweeping away his pre-test nerves. The exam was three hours long, and several people finished the paper in about an hour.

However, the exam rules stated that you couldn’t turn in your paper early and had to sit in your seat and grind out the time. Bai SiNing was a little bored, staring at his snow-white piece of draft paper. Sure enough, it was the teammates that gave it a go, he, Lin XiuYong, Brother Ang, God Ye, each one was a thick thigh.

So boring, it was the first time he had so much time after the exam. He scribbled on his sketchpad with a pen, his head full of Luminous CP, drawing various vignettes and finally almost waiting for the bell to ring.

Suddenly, Bai SiNing had a bright idea. Passing the note just had to be steady and accurate, the teacher couldn’t catch it at all. Besides, it wasn’t cheating to pass notes that had nothing to do with the test. Bai SiNing tore off two pieces of draft paper and quickly wrote a sentence on one side of it, crumpling it into a ball. He glanced up at the surveillance, which was turned off, then at Wang Chuang on the stage, who seemed drowsy.

Okay, now’s the time.

Bai SiNing turned back quickly and looked at Ye Fei and Gu Ang both looking down at their papers, and quickly shot out a paper ball on each of their desks.

After all, having grown up with military training, throwing a note was still pretty accurate. Gu Ang was wandering off and was pulled back to attention by the paper ball that was thrown at him. He frowned, thinking about what ungodly person would dare to frame him. Throwing notes during exams. How cliché.

Gu Ang covered it with his hand and ripped the note open, which read, “Ye Fei, I like you.”

What the hell? A confession on the exam? Is this guy toxic? And passing it to the wrong person?

Gu Ang looked up, glancing around blankly, and locked eyes with Ye Fei in the next aisle.

Ye Fei was also tugging a note in his hand with the same blank expression.

Gu Ang tapped his hand on the table, “Bai SiNing, wasn’t this you? This is poisonous!”

Bai SiNing returned with a smile, “It’s none of my business! You two passing notes to each other, don’t dump it on me.”

Gu Ang gritted his teeth, “You’re done with the questions, aren’t you? Wait for me after class.”

Lin XiuYong from the next class, “??? What are you guys talking about? I can’t understand.”

A few people were listening intently to the voice in their headphones when Wang Chuang had stepped silently into the middle of the aisle, his voice icy cold.

“I didn’t expect it, but two of our Year One students, Ye Fei! Gu Ang! Exchanged notes on the final exam! What a disgrace!”

The other students who were still working on their papers turned back to the two. Eyes with curiosity, exploration, and melon-eating excitement. If we weren’t still taking exams, everyone would probably have to get out their communicators and start recording little videos.

Wang Chuang snatched the note in his hand and shoved it into his hand, pacing with his hands behind his back, “Everyone else continue with the questions, you two stand in the back of the classroom and don’t take the test.”

Gu Ang hangs back, “Teacher, I’m done, can I turn in my paper now?”

“Passing answers to each other is fast, isn’t it?” Wang Chuang returned, reaching out and pulling the two up, “Go to the back of the classroom and stand until the test is over.”

Gu Ang was speechless, he was really wronged. He didn’t pass a note, so why should he be punished? Before he could move to the corner, the end-of-exam bell rang.

Gu Ang cocked the corner of his mouth, “Teacher, the test is over, no need to stand, right?”

“Everyone leave.” Wang Chuang grunted and returned the slips of paper to each of the two men, “Here, read out loud. What’s written on the slips?”

Ye Fei: “…”

Gu Ang pursed his lips, his cheeks a parched red at the thought of the words on the note.

“I won’t read it.”

“You’re against it, aren’t you?” Wang Chuang glared, “If you dare to do something, you have to do it. Speak up, so the entire class can hear you.”

The two men looked at each other, their expressions filled with helplessness. One looked frank, the other a little bashful.

Two voices, speaking at the same time in the quiet classroom, with the class looking on.

“Gu Ang, I like you.”

“Ye Fei, I like you.”

The author had something to say: rounding up was a public confession (bushi)

Bai SiNing: Lin XiuYong, help me !!!!

Lin XiuYong: Can’t carry it.