The same stunned expression appeared on the teammate who had gone out with Xie Yihan.

Mu Yun had never seen his seemingly sunny and cheerful teammate, who was actually warm outside but cold inside, look so anxious.

He stared at Xie Yihan’s back as he ran out of the training room, not even noticing that the energy drink in his hand had spilled onto his pants. The teammate beside him, Zhang Kai, who was cleaning his skateboard, bumped his shoulder: “With the captain like this, did his house catch fire or what?”

They had just been on a break. Xie Yihan had taken a phone call and then dashed out of the training center, not even delaying to ask the coach for leave.

Mu Yun shook his head, confused: “I don’t know either. I’ve never seen him this excited.” Saying that, he put down the half-spilled drink and followed him.

The coach saw Xie Yihan rushing out hurriedly. He had wanted to call him back, but considering that they had just finished a major competition and their training had been intense, he turned a blind eye and let him leave.

Seeing Mu Yun sneakily follow, the coach not only didn’t stop him but secretly gave him a knowing look.

Mu Yun understood immediately. He knew the coach had tacitly approved him to find out what was going on. To put it nicely, it was care for the team member, fearing something might happen to Xie Yihan during the competition break. To put it less nicely, everyone’s gossiping nature was at work.

Looking at the teammates, all staring like snow rabbits, one could tell.

And Xie Yihan was the hope of the whole “village” to bring back food.

Mu Yun felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. He followed Xie Yihan all the way to the training center’s entrance.

The scene before him completely stunned him.

Xie Yihan, usually someone who didn’t interact much with the team, now leapt toward a young man like a large dog greeting its owner, full of enthusiasm. Then, with one hand, he picked up the young man at the door and started spinning him around.

The young man clearly got startled by the sudden move. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms tightly around Xie Yihan’s neck, curling his legs slightly to stabilize himself.

Mu Yun then noticed that the young man’s body was not weak, he had long, strong legs and a narrow, powerful waist, broad shoulders, narrow waist—he looked nothing like a fragile type.

…But since Xie Yihan himself was an athlete, the young man was forced to be carried like a doll.

Mu Yun was speechless.

—He had never seen Xie Yihan so enthusiastic!

Fortunately, after a few spins, Xie Yihan finally remembered where they were and quickly set the young man down. The young man seemed accustomed to it and smiled wryly at the tall athlete who had just carried him.

Mu Yun then realized that the young man who had been set down was quite handsome, with features that carried an indescribable charm when put together.

Mu Yun’s cultural knowledge was limited, and he couldn’t think of words to describe it, he just felt that when this young man stood next to Xie Yihan, he had the urge to book a room for the two of them.

“Didn’t we just see each other when you came back home recently? Why are you so excited?” the handsome young man asked clearly, a smile in his voice.

Xie Yihan didn’t speak, only pressed closer to the handsome young man. The young man didn’t mind, placing a bag in Xie Yihan’s hand and patiently reminding him: “I contacted your coach. I know you can eat sweets now, so I made some Dragon and Snowflake candy for you. The ones in this bag are for normal training with reduced sugar, these are for high-intensity training, and these are for after competitions…”

The young man spoke patiently, a contrast to his appearance, meticulous and attentive. Mu Yun nodded at the thoughtfulness.

‘Like my mom.’

Mu Yun was startled by the thought but soon felt it fit.

Xie Yihan, after receiving the young man’s serious reminders, first stayed silent, then grabbed the snacks, and once again pressed against the young man like a hugging bear.

“…Wangxing, my parents never treated me this well,” Xie Yihan said, leaning on the young man’s shoulder, a little aggrieved.

Mu Yun thought: “…” Who is this person?

Was this still the aloof athlete who held an X Games slope-style gold medal and ignored reporters?

Mu Yun turned his gaze away, feeling unable to look directly, only to meet someone’s eyes.

The person looked familiar. Before Mu Yun could recall who he was, the person seemed guilty and hid behind the security booth. That gesture made Mu Yun suddenly realize who it was.

‘—Isn’t that Mu Bai’s boyfriend???’

Mu Yun stared at Gu Yan, hiding sneakily by the security booth, feeling stunned.

He instinctively took out his phone to take photos. After one or two shots, Gu Yan noticed him.

The next second.

“Bang—clang—!”

Gu Yan accidentally hit a trash can and then a utility pole while escaping, causing a series of clattering sounds that caught the attention of the two people at the door.

…And completely exposed Mu Yun’s eavesdropping.

Fortunately, they didn’t mind and didn’t mention it.

Mu Yun still secretly took a few photos of Gu Yan, fearing he might be up to something bad.

Mu Yun then forced an awkward smile toward the two ahead.

The handsome young man saw him, greeted him, hugged Xie Yihan briefly, and indicated he wanted to leave.

Mu Yun also breathed a sigh of relief, but when he turned his head, he saw Xie Yihan looking at the handsome young man with a pitiful expression, like a 200-pound solid little kitten.

The young man, named Ye Wangxing, clearly couldn’t handle it.

“Alright, now that I’m going to college near you, we’ll see each other every day. I happen to have a gift for you in a few days. I made it myself, and it took a long time. Don’t be upset—go back and train with your teammates properly.”

The young man’s voice became noticeably gentler. When Xie Yihan heard about the gift, his eyes lit up, and he obediently nodded.

Mu Yun, standing beside them, was utterly dumbfounded. The way he looked at Ye Wangxing became a little strange.

‘…If this person were willing to teach, the coach would probably be happy to learn from him. No wonder Xie Yihan listened obediently.’

It wasn’t until the two reluctantly separated, with Xie Yihan carrying the package back to the training center, that Mu Yun reacted.

“Just now… was that your partner?”

Mu Yun asked, shocked.

Xie Yihan glanced at him and didn’t say a word. It wasn’t until they were near the locker room that he spoke: “No, he’s a brother I grew up with, a childhood friend.”

Xie Yihan’s tone softened a little.

Mu Yun nodded in understanding, then casually asked: “So your relationship is pretty good, huh?”

Xie Yihan naturally nodded, his gaze softening. He began telling stories from their childhood.

Since they were little, Ye Wangxing had always been caring, and that continued to the present.

“…He liked to worry about everything, and he was soft-hearted. When I said I would arrange our childhood engagement first, he shed a few tears, and I ended up giving up that position to him.”

Xie Yihan spoke through gritted teeth.

Mu Yun instinctively offered a few words of comfort: “You were both young at the time. It was probably just a game.”

Xie Yihan glanced at him, the eye with the tear mole full of sarcasm. He scoffed: “If that childhood engagement was just a game, then what about the fiancé who got the invitation?”

Mu Yun: “…Huh?”

“But luckily, the fiancé went abroad when he was eleven, and I burned the invitation. Wangxing was only in first grade, so whether he remembered the fiancé didn’t matter at all.”

Saying that, the tall young man raised his chin proudly.

Mu Yun: “…”

So the “captain” had been jealous since first grade and had been holding onto it all these years?

The revelation that the supposed cool snowboarder had been a childish, jealous brat for over a decade didn’t hit Mu Yun until they reached the locker room.

By then, Xie Yihan had started pulling things out of the bag.

Mu Yun and the other teammates stared at the neatly packed Snowflake and Dragon candies in the young man’s hands, suddenly feeling the protein bar they had eaten that morning turning sour in their stomachs.

“I wish I had a brother like that. Too bad my family is full of freeloaders, always expecting me to give them coins,” one teammate said with a tsk.

Another teammate nodded: “If I didn’t fight with him as a kid, that would’ve been lucky. Being so obedient and sensible is impossible.”“This is supposed to be a brother? He must be a fairy snail!”

Another teammate complained angrily, chewing the low-sugar Snowflake pastry.

Mu Yun also thought of his little cousin, an art student, who perfectly fit the stereotype.

…During this year’s New Year visit home, the cousin had cried three times over his boyfriend.

As someone close to the cousin, Mu Yun had naturally gone to comfort him, leaving himself exhausted.

There was no way his little cousin would bring him snacks, it was already a miracle he didn’t make him clean up messes.

While Mu Yun thought about this, he suddenly remembered that the photos he had taken seemed to include his little cousin’s boyfriend. He didn’t know why he had been outside their training center, but he figured he should tell his little cousin about this odd behavior.

Thus, while Mu Yun was on his way to meet the counselor, he received photos from his cousin.

“—This seems to be your boyfriend. He has been outside our training center for quite a while. Maybe you should ask him why he’s here?”

Mu Bai, who had just been sending sweet messages to Gu Yan and was expecting him to bring snacks, froze.

Gu Yan, holding the snacks he had brought for Mu Bai, smiled. He had intended to surprise Mu Bai, but what greeted him instead was a shout of anger.

“Gu! Yan!”

Gu Yan was startled by the sudden shout, almost dropping the snacks. Seeing Mu Bai’s angry expression, he panicked and asked: “What’s wrong, Mu Bai? What happened?”

Mu Bai handed his phone to Gu Yan and questioned: “What were you doing outside my cousin’s training center? You were acting sneaky. Are you hiding something from me?”

Gu Yan saw the photo of himself on the phone and felt a jolt in his heart.

“…It’s not a big deal. I was just curious. It’s the first time I knew it was the national team’s training venue. Also, Mu Bai, why didn’t you ever tell me you had a cousin who joined the national team?”

Faced with Mu Bai’s accusatory tone, Gu Yan felt at a loss for words.

He knew he couldn’t talk about Ye Wangxing yet. After all, Ye Wangxing had remained silent when asked if he had feelings for those three, and he hadn’t given a clear answer.

Moreover, Gu Yan’s uncle and cousin were in a delicate situation. If he revealed it now, it might cause a bigger problem. In the end, he could only laugh it off, hoping Mu Bai would forget about it.

Gu Yan sighed and thought he would tell his family about it when he went home this weekend.

Mu Bai’s rhythm was interrupted by Gu Yan’s words.

“…Didn’t I tell you?”

Mu Bai immediately felt a little guilty. Gu Yan pressed the advantage and said: “You never told me anything, Mu Bai. You didn’t even introduce me to your family. Are you really serious about dating me?”

Gu Yan returned Mu Bai’s previous words to him. Mu Bai recognized the phrasing but knew he was in the wrong. After a few stubborn words, they reconciled, snuggling close again.

“…The snowflake candy and Dragon Beard candy I made cannot be bought anywhere else. I’m the only one in the world making it. Consider yourself lucky to have such a good boyfriend,” Gu Yan said proudly, lifting his chin.

Mu Bai, naturally, said thank you in a clingy way, then eagerly opened the box. Once opened, he exaggeratedly praised the candy, commenting that the Dragon Beard and snowflake candy looked exquisite, beautiful, and tempting.

Gu Yan raised his chin higher, feeling extremely proud.

He didn’t notice that behind him, the counselor had seen them and was walking over, looking displeased.

Mu Bai didn’t notice either. He immediately grabbed a piece of Dragon Beard candy and stuffed it into his mouth.

The next second…

“Pfft—cough cough! Sweet and salty! What’s in this, Gu Yan?!”

Mu Bai looked incredulously at the candy he bit and shouted at Gu Yan in shock.

“Pork floss! I specifically created this specialty. Others can’t even buy it.”

Gu Yan raised his chin even more proudly. Mu Bai’s reaction was…

“Gu Yan, are you crazy?!”

The counselor sighed, looking at the young couple glaring at each other.

She really didn’t understand young people these days. Although she was only 26, after becoming a counselor, she felt mentally 62.

Not to mention those fragile students who went to the hospital at the slightest thing, even dealing with these campus couples was enough to exhaust her.

This couple caused the most trouble. Most other couples only confessed under the dorm or were clingy and stayed out at night.

Even if they argued, it was mostly verbal. If someone tried to get physical, others would stop them.

But they were different. Even if others fought, it was mutual. They… jumped into the lake themselves.

She couldn’t even recall how she felt when she heard Li Qing say Gu Yan and Mu Bai jumped into the lake this morning.

Luckily, the artificial lake reached only their waists. Otherwise, she felt her work as a counselor would be over.

It was still tricky now because they had been recorded for a minor offense that morning.

Correspondingly, her bonus for the month was deducted.

When she received the bad news, she almost wanted to dive into the lake herself. These two had brought trouble on themselves—it wasn’t her fault!

But this was her job. She could only grit her teeth and accept it.

Unexpectedly, just as she planned to tell them, she saw the couple, who had been clingy together, start fighting again. They almost drew other students’ attention. Luckily, she arrived in time and pulled them into her office.

When the counselor told them they had a minor demerit, the couple seemed completely unconcerned. Their expressions didn’t change, and they glared at each other, ready to argue again.

Just as the counselor lost patience and prepared to kick them out…

“Knock knock.”

Someone knocked on the office door.

“Counselor, are you there? I need to inform you about the patent application.”

Upon hearing the voice, the counselor’s anger vanished, and her expression softened. She looked toward the door.

Mu Bai and Gu Yan instinctively turned and saw Ye Wangxing standing there, looking at them curiously.

But the counselor ignored them. Her voice was so gentle it seemed to drip with water: “Ah, Ye Wangxing, you’re here. This time the application passed. You want to report it to the college, right?”

The handsome young man turned his head, no longer looking at the two who seemed to be punished. He smiled and nodded.

“Yes, I want to see if this patent can help me get recommended for graduate studies.”

Hearing this, the counselor, whose bonus had just been deducted, felt reinvigorated.

If she produced a student who could get a recommendation purely on merit, wouldn’t her bonus be restored?

She knew how competitive it was outside for talented students. Good advisors were snatched, and naturally, good students were too.

Thinking this, her voice softened further.

Meanwhile, Gu Yan and Mu Bai, who had jumped in the lake and argued earlier that morning, thought: “…”

They hadn’t gone anywhere.

The counselor didn’t forget them. She smiled, then looked at them and instantly felt speechless.

“…You two go back first. The notification has been sent to your phones. Review it carefully. I have explained previous precautions. Reflect properly after returning to your dorm and aim to remove this demerit before graduation.”

After finishing her formal speech, she promptly sent the two out of the office.

The two stood at the door, silent: “…”

The counselor didn’t care what they thought. Everything she did followed the official process.

The most important thing now was Ye Wangxing’s patent application.

The counselor knew this not only concerned Ye Wangxing’s academic future but also her bonus. Although the system patent had been approved and graduate recommendation was highly possible, the formal process still needed to be completed.

She quickly pulled out forms to help Ye Wangxing fill in the necessary details for the recommendation. While filling them, her curiosity got the better of her, and she asked Ye Wangxing about the system behind this patent.

“…Producing an independent system in the first year is really impressive. But this…”

She paused strangely, staring at the patent title before struggling to read it aloud.

“‘Indoor Dual-User 3D Relative Positioning System Based on Multi-Source Heterogeneous Sensor Fusion and Distributed DEKF Architecture—A Collaborative SLAM Solution for Multi-Level Building Environments’… What is this?”

Fortunately, the young man avoided technical jargon and simply explained it to the counselor.

“It’s a 3D positioning system. Very simply, if someone wears this electronic device, the system can tell where they are and determine the distance and approximate height between them.”

The counselor finally understood it was a positioning device.

But another problem arose. She politely asked: “Have you considered your target users?”

Actually, she wanted to say that unless officially approved, this kind of system could get him in trouble.

The young man looked troubled and said: “I haven’t figured that out yet. Actually, I planned to give it as a gift.”

The counselor stared in disbelief at the handsome young man.

She had thought he was her bonus savior, but now…

Seeing the system, she felt her vision darken.

Who gives positioning devices as gifts?!

And most importantly…

—Who would even like this thing?!

Three days later…

“…Oh? This watch has a positioning function and is bound to you? You can know my location anytime?”

The man with dark golden eyes heard this and smiled brightly, giving the young man a hug.

“Thank you. I really like it.”

The assistant watching the boss put on the watch: “…”

‘Although people’s preferences are free…’

The assistant hesitated, looking at his boss.

‘I suggest you see a doctor.’

Obviously, the assistant didn’t dare say it aloud, just standing by and watching his boss happily share his location with the young man.

After asking what the young man did today, the boss was satisfied and let him leave.

The assistant watched his boss return to grading documents. After a few minutes, confirming there were no further instructions, he quietly left the office.

Once in the corridor, the assistant sighed in relief, then muttered to himself.

‘Tsk tsk, this Mr. Ye might soon rise to power.’

While wondering if Mr. Ye had reached the legal marriage age, he grabbed documents to find Xiao Pei for a technical issue.

Just as he reached Xiao Pei’s floor, he stopped in his tracks. —The young man who appeared in Da Pei’s office earlier was now holding a very familiar box outside Xiao Pei’s office.

Next second, Xiao Pei opened the office door and directly hugged the young man.

Assistant: “…”

Huh?

 

 

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