Chapter 67
That night, Yu Chucheng had a very strange dream.
The setting was still his apartment, but Duan Huaijin was there—and the key point was, he wasn’t wearing a shirt.
The lines of his waist and abdomen were clean and sharp, his lean muscles firm and well-defined. Every inch was just right, making Yu Chucheng instinctively swallow hard.
He hadn’t expected Duan Huaijin’s upper body to be so sexy. Then the lower body…
Yu Chucheng’s gaze drifted down shifted to a certain spot.
“Where are you looking?” Duan Huaijin’s eyes suddenly darkened, looking somewhat intimidating.
Before Yu Chucheng could speak, his shoulders were grabbed and shoved back hard; he fell directly onto the bed.
Holy crap?! This dream is going in a very wrong direction!
Yu Chucheng struggled to climb up, but the bed was like a marshmallow; the more he rolled over to get up, the deeper the mattress sank.
Duan Huaijin’s hand, faintly showing veins, grabbed his ankle and yanked him down.
“Wait a second!”
Yu Chucheng flailed, snapping awake.
He found himself sleeping haphazardly across the bed, half the blanket on the floor, and his pillow nowhere to be found—certainly not under his head.
Yu Chucheng stared at the ceiling for a good while before coming to his senses; it was just a dream.
But he was someone who rarely dreamed. Even when he did, it was usually about fighting monsters and leveling up. Why would he suddenly have a dream like that?
Yu Chucheng flipped over and sat up. Outside, the horizon was turning the color of a fish’s belly; it was just beginning to get light.
Before sleeping last night, his mind had been replaying the scene of releasing Kongming lanterns at the park. That was likely why he dreamed of Duan Huaijin.
But dreaming of him shouldn’t result in a wet dream!
This was a disaster. He really wasn’t exactly straight anymore. He had actually dreamed of Duan Huaijin without clothes. If he hadn’t woken up in time, wouldn’t things have proceeded to… this and that?
Yu Chucheng sat on the bed, covering his face in a self-imposed “silent mode.”
* * *
A week later, Duan Huaijin passed the preliminaries and successfully entered the semi-finals.
Unfortunately, on the day of the semi-finals, Yu Chucheng was called away by Yu Jingchen on short notice and could only head to Jingda later.
“Your Uncle Lin passed away yesterday. Go home and change; we’re going to the memorial hall this afternoon,” Yu Jingchen said over the phone.
“Uncle Lin?” Yu Chucheng thought for a moment. “The one who had New Year’s Eve dinner with us last year?”
Yu Jingchen gave an affirmative “Mm.”
Yu Chucheng was shocked. “How did he die? Was he sick?”
The Lin family was quite famous in Kyoto, with business ties to many groups. They had collaborated with the Yu family before and were on good terms.
“Late-stage cancer, discovered too late,” Yu Jingchen said calmly. “Get ready. I’m sending someone to pick you up. We’ll talk more when we meet.”
In the afternoon, Yu Chucheng and Yu Jingchen attended the memorial service together. The Lin family had a massive estate and business, so many people came to pay their respects.
However, from the Zhang family, only Zhang Guangzhi came alone.
Yu Chucheng heard people whispering nearby.
“Why is there only one person from the Zhang family? Aren’t the Lins and Zhangs usually close? It’s fine if the son didn’t come, but it’s a bit much for Zhang Mian not to show up.”
“Shh, keep it down. Ever since her parents died, Zhang Mian stopped attending these memorial services.”
“What? Died? When? Weren’t her parents living abroad long-term?”
“Aiya, that was years ago. You weren’t in Kyoto then, so of course you wouldn’t know. They didn’t notify anyone; only relatives within five degrees of the Zhang family went abroad to handle the funeral.”
“How did they die? All these years I thought they were just staying abroad and hadn’t come back.”
“I heard they were planning to return, but their private plane crashed. It was quite tragic.”
Yu Chucheng was listening with full concentration. In that case, is it highly likely that Zhang Mian became depressed during that period?
Zhang Guangzhi stood silently before the black-and-white memorial photo for a few minutes. He turned around, sensing a gaze on him.
Yu Chucheng lowered his head a second before the gaze swept over, pretending to be engrossed in his phone.
Zhang Guangzhi stared at Yu Chucheng’s face, feeling his build was somewhat similar to the person he encountered on Cruise Night. But before he could investigate further, a tall figure blocked his path, cutting off his line of sight.
Yu Jingchen’s eyes lowered coldly as he looked down at Zhang Guangzhi. “Is something the matter?”
Though Zhang Guangzhi was older than Yu Jingchen, his public persona was always easygoing and humble; he wasn’t as imposing or ruthless as Yu Jingchen.
He offered a polite smile. “Nothing. I was just about to head out. Please excuse me, President Yu.”
Yu Jingchen didn’t speak, nor did he move. Zhang Guangzhi had no choice but to maintain his pleasant smile and squeeze past him.
* * *
Inside the Jingda Auditorium, Ji Zhou and Xu Mengshu had arrived early to secure back-row seats with an excellent view of the competition.
Soon, the auditorium was packed to capacity. The judges’ panel consisted of highly respected experts and professors.
Ji Zhou had originally wanted to save a seat for Yu Chucheng, but so many people had come to watch this “battle of the geniuses” that many had brought their own small stools.
Ji Zhou: 【When can you get here? It’s about to start and there are no seats left.】
Yu Chucheng: 【Still going to be a while. Don’t save a seat for me; I’ll be lucky if I catch the end.】
Ji Zhou: 【Fine.】
The moment he took his bag off the adjacent seat, someone sat down.
“As expected of Jingda, this academic atmosphere is palpable.” Xu Mengshu took a bunch of photos of the auditorium. “I’m going to post these on my Moments later and pretend I’m a contestant too.”
The first two rows were reserved for the semi-finalists, most of whom were from Jingda. The semi-finals involved live scoring and immediate results. The AC was blasting in the auditorium, and many people were so nervous they had goosebumps.
Duan Huaijin had drawn number twelve—the very last one.
“Are you nervous? I just bought this soda at the convenience store. Here.”
A familiar voice rang out. Duan Huaijin tilted his head and saw Hao Jia, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, standing in front of Zhang Hanzhou, holding a bottle of water like a scene from a teen drama.
Sitting in the back, Ji Zhou also noticed Hao Jia from a distance. It wasn’t that Hao Jia was particularly eye-catching, but Zhang Hanzhou, who was also competing, was surrounded by a large crowd. Even the Dean had come down to pat Zhang Hanzhou on the shoulder; it was hard not to notice him.
Ji Zhou frowned. “What the? Those two actually hit it off?”
Xu Mengshu followed his gaze. “Isn’t that the person Brother Chucheng used to pursue?”
“Don’t mention it. It’s annoying to look at,” Ji Zhou said sourly.
Xu Mengshu pondered for a moment before suddenly saying, “Is that person opposite him his partner? I think they’re a pretty good match.”
Ji Zhou glared at her. “How are they a match?”
Xu Mengshu dismissively raised her hand to keep Ji Zhou’s spit from hitting her face. “Don’t get excited. This is a good thing! It means there’s no chance for Brother Chucheng and him anymore. Besides, I’ve always felt someone like Chucheng should be paired with a cold, top-tier genius like Duan Huaijin.”
Ji Zhou: “…”
I feel like her main point was the second half.
Sure enough, Xu Mengshu continued: “What’s with that face? I’m serious. Look, Chucheng is an Omega and Duan Huaijin is an Alpha; they’re a match from both a biological and conventional perspective.”
“And they complement each other—one is dazed, one is smart. One’s grades are like a pile of mud, while the other’s are flying high. One lies flat and enjoys life with no ambition, while the other has clear goals and drive.”
By the end, Xu Mengshu couldn’t help but sigh: “What a perfect fit.”
Ji Zhou: “I honestly can’t tell if you’re praising Duan Huaijin or insulting Yu Chucheng.”
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