keep out of the affair

No matter how much Zhang Yi and Zhang Ben tried to butter him up, Chen Yuchen didn't leave them a single piece of cantaloupe. There wasn't much to begin with—a small container filled with neatly cut pieces, likely cut by Chen Siqi herself.

"Come on, Yuchen, no need to be so stingy, right?" Zhang Ben joked, raising his eyebrows.

Zhang Yi laughed, chiming in, "You don't get it. That cantaloupe was from Yuchen's special girl. Of course he's not sharing. We're lucky to get cold buns."

Zhang Ben pouted. "These buns are already cold."

With their back-and-forth banter, the two began washing up at the sink.

"Yuchen, how about dinner tonight? Yesterday you bailed on us, and Zhang Ziqi gave me an earful. You've got to give us some face today, right?" Zhang Yi asked as he washed his face with cleanser.

Sitting to the side, Chen Yuchen typed a message to Chen Siqi: "The cantaloupe was really sweet. Thanks, Xiaoqi."

Chen Siqi replied with several adorable emoji and said, "If you like it, I'll bring you some every day."

"Yuchen? What do you say?" Zhang Yi continued to pester him.

Chen Yuchen chuckled, "Zhang Ziqi's persistent, huh? All this over a meal? Doesn't she worry she might end up falling for me?"

Zhang Yi laughed too. "That's just how she is. You beat her in that game, and now she's determined to eat her way back. Besides, our rule is whoever wins pays for the meal."

"Fine, fine. But first, help me pick up the military training uniforms and drop them off at the girls' dorm. Then I'll treat you all to dinner." Chen Yuchen finally agreed.

"Delivering uniforms to the girls' dorm? I'd go even if you weren't buying dinner!" Zhang Ben said with a goofy grin.

Zhang Yi, relieved that Chen Yuchen had agreed, let out a sigh. Zhang Ziqi had been upset with him all day yesterday, saying she'd ignore him if he couldn't get Yuchen to come out. Zhang Yi couldn't handle her complaints, so he was eager to resolve the situation as early as possible.

After Zhang Ben finished washing up, he even used Zhang Yi's face cleanser. Zhang Yi noticed and frowned, "Why are you using my cleanser again?"

"I forgot to buy mine yesterday. Don't worry, I'll get some today," Zhang Ben replied with a mischievous smile.

Zhang Yi didn't make a big deal of it. "Just hurry up, and make sure to replace it later."

Once everyone had finished washing up, they ate the cold buns Chen Yuchen had brought. Zhang Yi, unable to stomach them, suggested, "Let's eat something hot at the cafeteria for lunch. My treat."

Chen Yuchen nodded. "Sure, whatever you want."

The four of them headed to the cafeteria together. Wang Yishu had originally planned to stay behind and continue studying, but Zhang Yi and Zhang Ben dragged him along.

The university cafeteria was a prime spot for "people-watching," with students in all kinds of shorts and skirts passing by. Zhang Yi and Zhang Ben couldn't help but ogle at the girls, occasionally making comments about them.

Seeing this, Chen Yuchen turned to Wang Yishu and said, "Let's sit at another table. Being with these two is embarrassing."

"Seriously, Yuchen? So many pretty legs and you're not even tempted?" Zhang Yi called out, dissatisfied.

"My girlfriend's legs look way better than these," Chen Yuchen replied with a grin.

"Your girlfriend? You mean your cousin, right?" Zhang Yi teased, clearly convinced he knew what was going on.

"No one ever said a cousin couldn't be a girlfriend."

"Oh, please!" Zhang Yi laughed.

And with that, the four of them shared a lighthearted meal in the cafeteria. Around 3 PM, Chen Yuchen, along with his dormmates and a few guys from the neighboring dorm, went to the old library to pick up the military training uniforms.

There were only fourteen boys in their class, most of whom lived in dorms converted from the old guesthouse. Yuchen had only called on those in his dorm building to help, and everyone was eager to assist—after all, it was their freshman year, and everyone wanted to get along.

They delivered the uniforms to the girls' dorm first. Mu Ping, the girl in charge, came down with her dormmates to help distribute them. She asked if all the uniforms were accounted for, and Chen Yuchen nodded, confirming that everything was there.

By 4 PM, the sun was still blazing in the sky, shining brightly as Mu Ping and Chen Yuchen stood at the entrance of the girls' dorm, handing out uniforms with perfect coordination.

One girl joked, "The class rep and the vice class rep really make a good pair, don't they?"

Chen Yuchen just smiled and continued handing out uniforms, while Mu Ping flashed a smile at the girl in return.

Once they had finished distributing the uniforms to the girls, there were still two boys in the new dorms who hadn't received theirs. After delivering all the uniforms at the old dorm, Yuchen and the others returned to their dorm to take a hot shower, while Yuchen brought the remaining two uniforms to the new dorms.

By the time he arrived, it was nearly 6 PM. Yuchen went to the new dorm, but the two boys weren't there. Their roommates told him they had gone to the internet café earlier that morning to play games. Chen chuckled to himself—this was the typical university life.

Leaving the uniforms in their dorm, Chen Yuchen returned to his own room to find Zhang Yi and Zhang Ben already getting ready.

"Yuchen, how do I look?" Zhang Ben was posing in front of the mirror, wearing a black "Adiwang" T-shirt.

Chen Yuchen couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. "What are you even doing?"

Zhang Yi was laughing so hard he nearly fell over. "Zhang Ben's got some branded clothes today! He's gonna use that shirt to win over Chen Leyi!"

Zhang Ben grinned. "I bought this from a street vendor. Yuchen, look at your shirt—it's Adidas. But mine? It's Adiwang!" He proudly stuck out his thumb.

Chen Yuchen was about to say something, but Zhang Yi stopped him. Once Zhang Ben went to the bathroom, Zhang Yi whispered to Yuchen, "Don't bother telling him. He won't get it, and you'll just make trouble for yourself. It's just a shirt—no one's going to care."

Yuchen thought about it and realized Zhang Yi was right. Who didn't make silly mistakes when they were younger? Zhang Ben had likely grown up in a smaller town and didn't know the difference between these brands. If Yuchen pointed it out now, it'd only seem like he was making fun of him, so it was better to just play along.

When Zhang Ben came out of the bathroom, holding Zhang Yi's hair gel, he asked, "Hey, how do you use this stuff?"

"Seriously? You're using my stuff again?" Zhang Yi yelled, clearly frustrated.