A social phobic can also fall in love.

Tonight, Qi Xing was a gentleman, dutifully escorting Yan Tingmo back to the dormitory.

Yan Tingmo stood under the dorm building, looking up at him and wishing him again, “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you.” Qi Xing smiled gently. “Go on up and rest early.”

Yan Tingmo nodded. “Mm.”

“Good night,” Qi Xing said.

“Good night.”

“Say it again.” Qi Xing said seriously, “I really like the gift. It’s priceless.”

Yan Tingmo’s face turned red, and he flustered, quickly turning and running up the stairs.

Qi Xing stood still, watching him go upstairs with a gentle expression that almost overflowed.

Yan Tingmo rushed up to the third floor in one go, leaning against the wall and panting for breath. After a moment, he walked to the window, looked down, and saw that Qi Xing had already left.

In the dormitory.

His three roommates were gathered, playing video games. Yan Tingmo pushed the door open, and three pairs of eyes instantly turned to him.

He froze in his tracks, eyeing his roommates suspiciously. He swallowed nervously, standing at the door, unsure whether to retreat or go in.

“Come on in,” He Shiyang called. “We’re not going to eat you.”

That’s not certain, Yan Tingmo thought, your expressions look like you’re about to eat me.

Zhou Wen was the first to laugh, “Stop scaring him, look at how he’s too scared to come in.”

“Exactly,” Zhang Miao chimed in. “Mo Mo is trembling.”

Yan Tingmo’s heart skipped a beat. Trembling? Isn’t that a bit exaggerated?

“Alright, alright, both of you.” He Shiyang frowned, “Looks like you two are the good cops, and I’m the bad cop?”

Zhang Miao smiled innocently, “Not really.”

He Shiyang rolled his eyes and ignored him.

Eventually, with his roommates coaxing him, Yan Tingmo entered.

He Shiyang crossed his arms and questioned him, “Where did you go?”

Yan Tingmo answered honestly, “Went out to eat with a friend.”

“Which friend? Male or female?” He asked. “What’s their name? What year are they in? And why do you smell like perfume?”

Yan Tingmo was stunned, opening his mouth but unsure how to begin.

“Don’t ask so many questions at once,” Zhou Wen interjected, “he doesn’t even know how to answer all of that.”

“Okay,” He Shiyang rephrased, “Which friend?”

“Uh…” Yan Tingmo tried to change the subject, “The one who’s the best looking in the Computer Science department.”

He Shiyang raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Best looking? Xu Sheng?”

Yan Tingmo denied it. “I don’t think so.”

“What do you mean by ‘don’t think so’?” He Shiyang pointed at him. “You’re being vague with me, Little Mo, you’ve changed.”

“I haven’t!” Yan Tingmo quickly stole a glance at his roommates.

“Let me take over,” Zhou Wen stopped He Shiyang, speaking softly to Yan Tingmo.

“Mo Mo,” he said in a calm tone, “It’s not that we’re trying to control you, we’re just worried you might get hurt. You’re too naive and don’t understand people’s intentions.”

Yan Tingmo bit his lip, listening attentively.

“Come, sit down and let’s talk,” Zhou Wen smiled. “Don’t be so nervous, I won’t scold you.”

Yan Tingmo nervously sat down, placing his hands on his knees, looking every bit the obedient child.

Zhou Wen leaned forward slightly, speaking softly, “Can you tell me who you went out with?”

Yan Tingmo was silent for a few seconds, then quietly said, “It was Qi Xing.”

Zhou Wen raised an eyebrow. So, Yan Tingmo was with Qi Xing again?

“You guys are back together?” Zhang Miao, who had been quiet, finally asked, his voice tinged with frustration.

“No, no!” Yan Tingmo waved his hands, shaking his head rapidly.

“So then you two are…?” Zhou Wen dragged out his words, feigning a serious tone.

“It’s his birthday today! I just went to eat with him, that’s all!” Yan Tingmo quickly explained, practically shouting.

“Oh——”

Three teasing voices sounded at once in the dorm.

His face turned even redder, and he lowered his head like an ostrich.

“Turns out the watch you’re wearing is the one you bought for him.” He Shiyang said slowly, “And here I was, giving you advice.”

Yan Tingmo felt incredibly embarrassed.

“Alright, alright, no more teasing.” Zhou Wen laughed as he rubbed his fluffy head. “It’s fine since it’s Qi Xing. Go take a shower now, it’s late.”

Yan Tingmo nodded quickly, grabbed clean clothes from the wardrobe, and rushed into the bathroom.

The three roommates exchanged glances for a moment, then all burst out laughing.

He Shiyang scolded Zhou Wen, “You’re still the worst, making him spill everything.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Zhou Wen shrugged. “It’s all your words.”

“Damn.” He Shiyang paused, then cursed, “You’re messing with me.”

Zhou Wen returned to his bed, not looking back. “You just can’t keep your mouth shut.”

Only Zhang Miao was silently resting his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

Yan Tingmo locked himself in the bathroom, hanging his clothes up, then sat for a while in silence. Suddenly, he crouched down, covered his face, and quietly sighed in distress.

Through the tips of his ears, the redness could be seen spreading.

He replayed in his mind what had happened earlier when he gave Qi Xing the birthday gift. Why did he feel so uncontrollably upset, to the point of tears?

He had never felt this way when facing the misunderstanding and malice from his classmates.

Was it because he felt guilty toward Qi Xing? Yes, it had to be guilt.

He firmly nodded to himself, attributing the sudden flutter in his chest to guilt.

After coming to this conclusion, he wiped his face, stood up, and began undressing to take a shower.

The warm water washed away his tension and loosened his limbs. He sighed in relief, grabbed the towel to dry himself off, then put on his clothes and walked out of the bathroom.

During his shower, his roommates had started playing video games again.

He lingered by the frosted door for a moment, then quietly tiptoed to his bed, quickly climbing under the covers.

In his own little enclosed space, he felt a bit of comfort.

“Ding dong——”

A clear notification sound came from the bedside. He peeked out of the covers; his phone was ringing.

He fumbled to grab the phone, then quickly pulled his hand back.

Fingerprint unlock, and he logged into WeChat to see a message from Qi Xing.

Qi Xing: [Are you asleep yet?]

Yan Tingmo replied instantly: [Not yet.]

Qi Xing: [Oh]

After a moment, Qi Xing messaged again: [Are you still good on living expenses?]

Yan Tingmo didn’t understand but chose to lie: [It’s enough.]

Qi Xing: [Oh]

Yan Tingmo was speechless, thinking to himself, what is wrong with him?

Two seconds later, Qi Xing ended the conversation: [Going to sleep now, good night.]

Mo Mo: [Good night.]

In dorm 406.

Qi Xing put down his phone, stretched his arm, and looked carefully at the watch.

So handsome!

After admiring it, he kissed it.

The one my wife gave me, I love it!

He quietly felt pleased for a moment before remembering the important matter at hand, so he called Xing Yi.

Xing Yi must have been in the shower, as the sound of water splashing could be heard faintly in the background.

“Speak,” he said bluntly.

Qi Xing asked, “Are you taking a shower?”

Xing Yi put the phone on speaker and continued showering, “What do you think?”

Qi Xing didn’t respond and instead asked, “Do you have any younger siblings who want to learn how to paint?”

Xing Yi, not in the mood to guess his purpose, replied, “Just get to the point.”

Qi Xing insisted, “Just tell me, do you or not?”

“I don’t know,” Xing Yi replied impatiently. “If you’re not going to say anything useful, I’m hanging up.”

Qi Xing threatened, “Do you believe I’ll post on my social media about you wetting your pants when you were three?”

Xing Yi, annoyed, snapped, “Are you out of your mind?”

“Hmph ╯^╰,” Qi Xing teased. “So, it was a sunny afternoon, and I ran into Yi Yi, and he said…”

“Shut up!” Xing Yi roared, slamming the phone down.

Qi Xing looked at the phone screen, where the call had ended, and suddenly burst out laughing.

After laughing enough, he sent two text messages to Xing Yi.

Qi Xing: [You’re really something.]

Qi Xing: [I’m lucky to have you.]

After sending the messages, he went to sleep, not caring that Xing Yi would nearly lose his mind when he saw the messages after finishing his shower.

The next day.

Qi Xing invited Yan Tingmo to lunch, but Yan Tingmo refused, saying he had something to do.

He wasn’t sure if Yan Tingmo was truly busy or just making an excuse, but he had doubts about both possibilities.

At first, he didn’t think much of it, but after several days of being rejected, he started feeling strange.

On Tuesday morning, he invited him again, and once again, he was turned down.

He furrowed his brow, unable to understand what was going wrong. It wasn’t until he secretly followed Yan Tingmo to the art college and cautiously watched him for a while that he finally discovered the reason.

Yan Tingmo, having lost most of his living expenses, was struggling and eating bread alone in a classroom. Qi Xing watched from a distance, feeling an indescribable emotion rise in his chest, a sharp pain that made him want to rush over and hold Yan Tingmo in his arms.

But he couldn’t do that—it would embarrass him.

He didn’t want to embarrass him. Once he saw him eating bread alone, he understood why he  had been avoiding him for days.

It was simply because he didn’t want to trouble him or take advantage of him.

This was the dignity that he upheld.

Yan Tingmo had avoided him for several days, and finally, one day, Qi Xing didn’t invite him. This made Yan Tingmo breathe a sigh of relief, and he swapped his bread for instant noodles.

After waiting for the weekend, Qi Xing went straight to the dorm to check on him.

Yan Tingmo was half-hidden behind the door, with only his clear, bright eyes visible.

“Open the door first,” Qi Xing pressed his hand against the door gently, speaking softly. “I need to talk to you, Mo Mo, please let me in, okay?”

Yan Tingmo remained unmoved. “What’s this about? You can say it right now.”

“It’s not convenient,” Qi Xing pushed the door a little, but didn’t push too hard.  “It’s better if I come in and say it.”

Yan Tingmo glanced back at the empty dorm and the half-eaten instant noodles on the desk, then shook his head. “No, just say it here.”

Qi Xing sighed. “Alright, fine.”

Yan Tingmo tilted his head and looked up at him.

Qi Xing asked, “I just wanted to ask if you’re considering doing private tutoring. Xing Yi’s nephew and niece want to learn how to paint, and they’re looking for a tutor.”

Behind the door, Yan Tingmo was completely confused by this complex web of relationships: “…Huh?”