A social phobic can also fall in love.

As soon as those words were spoken, Qi Xing knew the answer.

Although Yan Tingmo didn’t respond, and didn’t look at him, Qi Xing could clearly tell his position in his heart.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t disappointed, but he didn’t know what to make of it.

He understood perfectly.

It was him who liked Yan Tingmo, not the other way around. Since he had taken the initiative and put his heart on the line, no matter how much he suffered, he couldn’t blame anyone.

Time seemed to stretch on, long enough that he started to question his sense of time. Then suddenly, Yan Tingmo responded.

He said, “I will.”

The smile on Qi Xing’s face faded slightly. After a moment, he realized what he had just heard, and a wave of joy flooded through him.

He hadn’t misheard, right? Yan Tingmo had just said he would?

He raised a hand to press against his chest, feeling an odd tension. Why do I feel so nervous? This isn’t the first time I’ve confessed, so why does it feel like my first love?

“You said you would, right?” He moved closer to Yan Tingmo, looking down at him intently.

Yan Tingmo’s ears turned pink, and he turned away, avoiding eye contact.

He didn’t dislike Qi Xing. In fact, he felt an immense fondness for him. Though he couldn’t say whether he liked him or not, he was willing to give him a chance again.

It was like he was willing to try sweet foods he didn’t normally enjoy.

He held the bubble tea Zhang Miao had bought for him, and to his surprise, he drank it all.

It wasn’t as overly sweet as he had expected.

He realized he would eventually have to step out of his comfort zone.

After Zhang Miao successfully confessed, he waved his hand and said he would treat everyone to dinner.

“Don’t be shy, everyone,” he pointed at a restaurant. “Order whatever you want!”

Since Zhang Miao had spoken, no one hesitated. After ordering four dishes and a soup, they put down the menu and began chatting casually.

Zhang Miao, still basking in the afterglow of his confession with Li Yinong, was in a sweet, flirtatious mood.

“This Hunan restaurant is ranked pretty high,” he said, flipping through his phone. “The reviews are good, and the food is nice.”

He Shiyang laughed at him, “Are you advertising for them?”

“No,” Zhang Miao put his phone down. “I just read it online.”

He Shiyang rolled his eyes, “Pfft.”

Li Yinong smiled throughout the conversation, occasionally whispering with her best friend.

Her best friend, Wu Shuang, had short hair and a baby face. When she smiled, her eyes curved like crescent moons.

She clearly had a soft spot for Zhou Wen, her eyes often drifting toward him. Even when talking to Li Yinong, her gaze would frequently sneak peeks at him.

Of the seven of them, only He Shiyang was left alone. But in the next moment, he felt better because besides him, both Yan Tingmo and Qi Xing were also single.

He felt reassured and turned to talk to Yan Tingmo.

But he noticed something was off with him.

His usually fair and delicate face had a strange rosy hue. He Shiyang, puzzled, shifted his gaze slightly to the right.

Oh, so that’s where it was coming from.

Qi Xing seemed to be in a great mood, propping his chin up with one hand, gazing at Yan Tingmo with affectionate eyes.

Yan Tingmo didn’t look at him, but he could feel his intense gaze.

He Shiyang: “…I see, the fool was me all along.”

Everyone was being subtle about their feelings, but he was completely out of the loop.

He wished he hadn’t come out, he might as well have stayed in the dorm.

Zhou Wen and Wu Shuang seemed to be a natural match.

But what about Yan Tingmo and Qi Xing?

Yan Tingmo hadn’t even figured things out yet, so why was he blushing?

Is it possible that he has feelings but doesn’t realize it?

He scoffed and aggressively stabbed at a crispy piece of meat on his plate with his chopsticks.

“Mo Mo, try this.” Qi Xing just so happened to place a piece of crispy meat onto Yan Tingmo’s plate.

He Shiyang immediately lost his appetite.

But Yan Tingmo was completely oblivious, actually eating the piece Qi Xing gave him.

Damn it, there are so many couples in the world, what’s one more?

He Shiyang moaned inwardly, but didn’t show it on the outside.

Zhang Miao, wanting to pamper Li Yinong, had ordered fresh-squeezed orange juice for the table.

After eating some spicy food, Yan Tingmo poured himself a glass of orange juice. Just as he was about to take a sip, a hand with prominent knuckles placed itself on top of his cup.

Qi Xing pushed his own glass of plain water toward him. “Drink mine, it’s not sweet.”

Yan Tingmo paused, then tilted his head slightly and smiled, “I could try sweet food.”

He smiled brightly and warmly, and Qi Xing stared at him, momentarily forgetting to breathe.

It was too charming.

It turned out Yan Tingmo knew how to tempt people without being taught.

No wonder he liked him—Yan Tingmo had smiled at him first.

“Okay,” Qi Xing’s voice grew husky. “Then try it, and if you don’t like it, just spit it out.”

Yan Tingmo nodded and sipped the orange juice, drinking it slowly.

It wasn’t as bad as he had imagined.

After dinner, the group prepared to head back to school.

They would take the same cars as before, in smaller groups. Just before getting into the cars, Wu Shuang suddenly suggested swapping seats with He Shiyang.

He Shiyang: “…”

“Fine…”

Zhou Wen had already helped him, so now it was up to him to help himself.

Yan Tingmo took the passenger seat again. His mood on the way back was completely different from when they arrived.

Qi Xing acted much like he had during the day—open, elegant, and composed.

But Yan Tingmo could still sense that he was quietly emitting charm.

Whenever Qi Xing looked at him, he would feel shy and even avoid making eye contact.

When Qi Xing smiled at him, his heart would race, beating wildly.

It was such a new feeling, something he hadn’t experienced when they were together before.

Yan Tingmo wondered, perhaps it was because tonight Qi Xing had been so much of a gentleman and hadn’t done anything weird.

“Is there something on my face?” Qi Xing asked, noticing Yan Tingmo sneaking glances at him.

Yan Tingmo quickly turned his head away, muttering, “No…”

“Why are you avoiding me?” He chuckled helplessly. “It’s not like I’m not letting you look.”

Yan Tingmo blushed, biting his lip, and didn’t say anything.

In the backseat, Zhou Wen and Wu Shuang were surprisingly quiet. Zhou Wen was looking out the window, and Wu Shuang was looking at him. After a while, her gaze shifted toward the front.

She found it very interesting and eagerly listened to the flirtation between Yan Tingmo and Qi Xing.

Yan Tingmo’s reactions were very cute, so cute that she wanted to hold his face and shout out a loud kiss O.

Tsk, that’s a bit too unladylike.

She tucked her hair behind her ear, resting her head against the car window, watching them with a smile in her eyes.

Zhou Wen, who had been pretending to be a gentleman, couldn’t hold back any longer when they were almost at the school gate.

He took out his phone, pulled up his WeChat QR code, and handed it to her: “Let’s add each other.”

“Hm?” Wu Shuang was surprised for a second, then smiled and nodded: “Sure.”

She naturally scanned the QR code.

She was very straightforward, and as she added him, she simply put his name as “Wen.”

Zhou Wen didn’t expect her to be so direct. With her naked gaze on him, he decided to change the nickname to something more intimate but polite—“Shuangshuang.”

Qi Xing parked the car at the usual spot, and the four of them walked toward the school.

Yan Tingmo liked to walk along the edge of the road in a straight line. He was walking a little slowly, so Qi Xing slowed down to accompany him.

Zhou Wen and Wu Shuang walked ahead, keeping some distance from them.

Qi Xing glanced at Yan Tingmo’s profile. His lashes were long, and the tips were slightly curled, casting a faint crescent-shaped shadow beneath his eyelids. His nose was sharp and straight, and his lips were full and red.

He couldn’t imagine how delightful it would be to kiss him.

“Mo Mo.” he suddenly stopped and turned to face him: “Next week is my birthday, will you spend it with me?”

Yan Tingmo stopped too, looking at him in confusion: “Your birthday?”

“Yes.” Qi Xing replied, “Mo Mo, will you spend it with me?”

Yan Tingmo bit his lip, and Qi Xing took a step forward, lowering his voice: “Can you?”

“Is it convenient?” Yan Tingmo hesitated a bit.

“It is,” Qi Xing coaxed gently. “Mo Mo, you should agree.”

Yan Tingmo tried to be clever: “You have a lot of friends.”

Qi Xing softly said: “But none of them are you.”

Yan Tingmo fell silent again.

Qi Xing continued: “I’m pursuing you, you agreed, so…”

He paused suspiciously for a second, lowering his voice and asking: “If I kissed you, would you run away, avoid me?”

Yan Tingmo was startled and took a step back, quickly covering his mouth, mumbling: “No!”

Qi Xing pretended not to understand: “What’s not okay? Is it that kissing you is not okay, or spending my birthday with me is not okay?”

Yan Tingmo frowned slightly: “Kissing me is not okay!”

“Oh.” Qi Xing laughed. “Then Mo Mo is agreeing to spend my birthday with me.”

“Mo Mo is so obedient.”

Yan Tingmo: “…” Damn, he got tricked again!

Qi Xing was really bad!

Zhou Wen and Wu Shuang had walked quite far ahead, and only then did they notice that the two of them were lagging behind. They shouted from a distance: “What are you guys doing?”

Yan Tingmo stared at Qi Xing with wide eyes, afraid that he might suddenly kiss him.

Qi Xing wasn’t the type to force a kiss. He always believed in mutual consent or waiting for the other person’s permission.

If he hadn’t followed this rule, his first kiss would have been long gone, not kept until now.

Qi Xing’s gaze lingered between Yan Tingmo’s eyes and nose, and if possible, he would slowly teach him to accept himself openly.

“We’re not doing anything.” he resumed walking and answered Zhou Wen’s question.

Seeing that he didn’t have any intention to force him, Yan Tingmo relaxed a bit.

He still wasn’t ready to get physically close with Qi Xing.

Especially since they weren’t officially together yet.

With his thoughts clouded, he returned to the dorm in silence.

Zhang Miao and He Shiyang had already returned before them.

As soon as they entered, He Shiyang grabbed Zhou Wen and asked: “Tell me, single or double?”

Zhou Wen pushed his hand away, pretending to be clueless: “What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

“Don’t act dumb.” He Shiyang squinted. “Don’t try to fool me.”

“Tsk.” Zhou Wen said, “Single, it’s too soon.”

He Shiyang immediately released his grip, disgusted: “Useless.”

He then quickly turned to Yan Tingmo: “What about you, back together?”

Yan Tingmo pretended to be confused: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Learning from the best.” He Shiyang didn’t let him off. “I can see through it, so spill it.”

Yan Tingmo evaded the question: “I didn’t, I don’t know.”

“Hmph.” He Shiyang said: “I’ll ask again tomorrow.”

Yan Tingmo: “…”

Zhang Miao, who had been absent throughout the conversation, asked: “What are you guys talking about?”

He Shiyang dismissed him: “You wouldn’t understand, just worry about your own business.”