Back at the Ye residence, Di Mingjue tiptoed into the room, only to be startled by Ye Ziyu's voice from the bed.
"Did you go see them? How are they getting along?" Ye Ziyu propped herself up, speaking with a sarcastic tone.
After a long day, Di Mingjue was both tired and sleepy. He sprawled onto the bed, pulling the covers up and burrowing in. His cold body immediately enveloped Ye Ziyu. "I'm so tired!"
Ye Ziyu tried to push him away, but he was too heavy. Helplessly, she grabbed his hair.
Though her grip seemed firm, it was more of a caress. After a moment, as Ye Ziyu was about to let go, the person in her arms suddenly unleashed his inner beast. He flipped over, pinning Ye Ziyu beneath him.
"You, what are you doing?" Ye Ziyu's voice trembled.
Before Di Mingjue could make his next move, Ye Ziyu sensed trouble. She placed her hands on Di Mingjue's chest, preventing him from pressing down further. "Aren't you tired? Let's sleep."
As she spoke, she covered her mouth and yawned.
"Just a quick nap is fine," Di Mingjue removed Ye Ziyu's hands and leaned down to kiss her.
There was no escaping; she was consumed.
The next day, at the venue for the Math Olympiad class activity.
Xiao Ran arrived without any preparations. Everyone else had clean clothes and toiletries available. He stood outside the tent, feeling helpless, watching his classmates leave in pairs.
What should he do?
As he pondered, Xiao Ran remembered what Ye Ziyu had told him when he left: no matter what happened, if there was a problem, find Xingxing. If he said it a few more times, Xingxing would surely agree.
With Ye Ziyu's instructions, Xiao Ran pushed aside the tent flap. Xingxing was just about to emerge. Neither of them had anticipated the other's movement, and their heads collided.
"Ouch! That hurts!" Xiao Ran clutched his forehead, looking at Xingxing, who also appeared to be in pain. "Why did you come out so suddenly? You didn't even give a heads-up."
Having been unexpectedly scolded, Xingxing couldn't help but think in his mind, *He didn't give a heads-up before coming in either.*
However, he didn't want to voice this. "Did you come in to find me about something?"
Xiao Ran nodded excitedly, tugging awkwardly at his clothes. "Um, Xingxing, I didn't bring any clothes. Do you have any spare ones I could borrow?"
They were about the same height and build, so their clothes were interchangeable.
Seeing Xiao Ran's sheepish expression, Xingxing bent down, pulled a shirt from his backpack, and handed it to Xiao Ran.
Xiao Ran was not picky; having clothes to wear was enough. He bent down, squeezing into the tent, and began changing in front of Xingxing.
After changing, Xiao Ran, emboldened by his lack of shame, borrowed toiletries from Xingxing. In this way, their relationship grew closer through these small exchanges.
Today's activity was related to the outdoors. They were in the same group and had to find hidden clues placed by the teacher nearby within a set time. Whichever group found the most would have the chance to pick useful tools first in the next activity.
"Xingxing, they're all heading in that direction. Let's go towards the artificial rockery ahead. Higher ground usually means more tools," Xiao Ran concluded after some thought.
After all, there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Xingxing shared Xiao Ran's idea. With the small backpacks issued by the teacher on their backs, they immediately began their search for their team.
To reach the small hill opposite, they had to cross an artificial lake. Small wooden boats were moored along the edge of the lake, complete with oars. As long as one knew how to use them, the lake could be crossed.
"Can you do it?" Xiao Ran asked Xingxing beside him.
He really couldn't!
After both shrugged to indicate their inability, they simultaneously laughed at each other.