My name is Shi Wei. By the time you read this sentence, I will already have removed your brain...
“Qiu He! Qiu He! Big news! Huge news! The forum's practically exploding!”
Qiu He glanced at his frantic roommate, put down his chopsticks, and pulled out a chair for him.
“What do you think the forum is, your toilet? It doesn't explode every five minutes. Sit down and tell me.”
Xu Yan set down his tray and sat beside Qiu He, still brimming with excitement.
“You know that transfer student?”
Qiu He rarely visited the forum, but even he'd heard a little about this. He nodded for Xu Yan to continue.
“Guess what? He's gotten together with Boss Shen! Apparently they were hugging right in the classroom. Who do you think made the first move? This came out of nowhere. You'd never think Boss Shen would...”
One of the people under discussion, Shen Li, had already appeared behind Xu Yan with his lunch tray. Qiu He covertly signaled for Xu Yan to look behind him, but Xu Yan was too carried away to register the danger. He kept talking.
Qiu He took in Shen Li's expression and quietly turned his face aside, attempting to disavow all involvement.
Even Xu Yan eventually sensed something was wrong. He stiffened, slowly turned his head, and met Shen Li's eyes.
“Uh, ha-ha. Boss Shen, let me make excuses—I mean, explain...”
Shen Li stared at him and gave a cold laugh.
“Go on, then. Explain.”
“Huh?”
Xu Yan blinked and stammered. For a long moment, he couldn't squeeze out so much as a decent fart.
“Well, um... How much did you hear, Boss Shen? Let me see what I can make up.”
Why had the idiot said the quiet part out loud? Qiu He helplessly covered his forehead and lit a mental candle for him.
“Pfft!”
“Look how badly you've scared him.”
Only at the laugh did Xu Yan notice the young man behind Shen Li: the transfer student himself.
Who knew what conclusion this genius of logic had reached? He stole a glance at Shen Li's face, then caught the hem of Shi Wei's clothes.
“Save me, sister-in-law!”
The plea rang out loud and clear. Watching Shen Li's face grow darker by the second, Qiu He quietly moved his chair farther away.
Shi Wei, however, was thoroughly entertained. He laughed until tears came to his eyes. Only when he'd had enough did he explain, “I'm an Alpha. Your Boss Shen should be one too.”
“So what if you're both Alphas? Nobody discriminates against Alpha-Alpha couples anymore... Hey, Boss Shen, why are you hitting me? I'm defending your—mmph, mmph...”
Unable to listen any longer, Qiu He clapped a hand over Xu Yan's mouth. If he kept going, who knew who else would get caught in the fallout?
“This is Qiu He, and this is Xu Yan. My roommates.”
“This is my childhood friend, Shi Wei.”
Shen Li drew Shi Wei down beside him on the opposite side of the table and introduced them, putting pointed emphasis on “childhood friend.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Shi Wei smiled at the pair. Just then, Xu Yan wriggled free of Qiu He's hand. Oh no, Qiu He thought, as Xu Yan pointed at Shi Wei and blurted:
“Oh! Oh! You're Boss Shen's—you know—his runaway sweetheart!”
Shen Li clenched his fist. He'd drag the idiot to the training room later and give him a proper workout.
Seeing his expression, Shi Wei mischievously poked his cheek. “Well, well, Cadet Shen Li. Is that how you've been introducing me?”
Shen Li looked at the face leaning toward him, and his thoughts slipped back two hours.
The moment Shi Wei entered the classroom, his gaze swept across every face. He'd been particularly eager to see Shen Li's expression when he spotted him.
Unfortunately, Shen Li was fast asleep with his head on his desk.
Shi Wei rushed through his introduction, headed straight to the back row, and tapped him awake.
As for sitting on Shen Li's lap... that part had been an impulse. He only wanted to tease the childhood friend he hadn't seen in so long. Consequences? He had the Marshal's get-out-of-jail-free card. Surely the Marshal wasn't going to leave the battlefield just to smack him over a little thing like sitting on a classmate's lap during a lesson?
“Miss me?”
He didn't ask whether Shen Li remembered him. He seemed entirely certain of the answer.
Shen Li was already annoyed at having his sleep interrupted. Then this person had the nerve to sit straight on his lap. He was about to lose his temper when he saw a face at once unfamiliar and familiar.
His arms moved faster than his thoughts, closing around the other's waist. Only afterward did he remember that he was sitting down. The guy wasn't going to fall.
Had he missed him? The answer seemed to be yes. But after a moment of silence, Shen Li shifted aside to make room.
“Shi Wei,” he said. “Behave.”
Apparently satisfied with that answer, Shi Wei sat beside him with a bright smile.
“Cadet Shen Li, could I borrow your textbook? Be nice to the new transfer student, hmm?”
“The Federation doesn't even use physical textbooks. Where exactly did you transfer from?” Where have you been all these years?
He didn't ask the second question aloud.
Still smiling, Shi Wei edged closer.
“Where do I download the digital ones, then?”
Shen Li rolled his eyes and lightly tapped Shi Wei's forehead.
“The academy website. Isn't that common knowledge in the Federation?”
“Can't you tell I'm trying to chat you up?”
“Then your pickup lines are painfully old-fashioned. Here. My contact ID. Add me.”
Complaining all the while, Shen Li held out the wrist bearing his terminal.
“You really are all talk. Your actions give you away.”
They chatted idly about nothing in particular. Neither mentioned the years apart. Shen Li even felt a little dazed. Could this be an exceptionally vivid dream?
A hand waved in front of his eyes.
“What are you thinking about? Take me to lunch.”
Only then did Shen Li notice that hardly anyone remained in the classroom. He stood. It wasn't until he took Shi Wei's slightly cool hand that any of it began to feel real.
“We have to hold hands just to get lunch, little Shen Li?”
The teasing in Shi Wei's voice sent a flush across Shen Li's face. He dropped the hand as though he'd been shocked.
Laughing and joking, they made their way to the dining hall. Shen Li had meant to introduce Shi Wei to his two roommates. He hadn't expected to overhear gossip about himself.
“We've got an empty room in our suite. Shi Wei, why don't you move in with us?”
The question brought Shen Li back to the present. He took a couple of mouthfuls of rice as though nothing had happened. Dorm suites at the Federal Military Academy housed four students. They did have a vacancy. If Shi Wei moved in, that would be... pretty nice?
He was rather eager to hear the answer too. When none came, he looked up and found three pairs of eyes fixed on him.
“Why are you all staring at me?”
Apparently, a taste for gossip was contagious. Even Qiu He was making suggestive faces at him.
“Boss Shen, you spent ages staring at Shi Wei like you'd lost your soul. Then the moment we asked if he'd move in, you started shoveling rice. Not exactly subtle.”
Xu Yan nodded solemnly in agreement.
“He cares so much, bro.”
“Well, with that kind of buildup, I'd better submit a request. See how I spoil you?”
Joining the other two in their teasing, Shi Wei gave Shen Li an exaggerated wink.
“All right, that's enough from you lot.”
Shen Li pretended to be angry and raised a fist as though to hit them, but the corners of his mouth crept upward.