Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan getting together seemed both unexpected and completely natural.
Even Wen Qing wasn't surprised. She just gave Xiao Zhan a look that said, "I already knew." Her mind was clearly elsewhere.
The most dramatic reaction came from Jiang Cheng.
He had a huge fight with Xiao Zhan over it—the worst fight they'd had in over twenty years of knowing each other. Jiang Cheng told Xiao Zhan he was crazy. Who even is Wang Yibo? Some random nobody who just showed up? How long have you even known him? Do you know anything about his background? Is his family well-off? Can he make you happy?
A barrage of questions left Xiao Zhan completely fed up.
"Jiang Cheng! Why are you interrogating me like this? Are you running a census? I just want to date someone I like—why does it have to be so complicated? I like him. Isn't that enough?"
That response made Jiang Cheng even angrier. He finally exploded and shouted:
"I came out for you when I was eighteen! Xiao Zhan, don't you dare forget that! You told me you were straight, that you couldn't bend! And now what? Are you gonna tell me Wang Yibo is secretly a girl?"
Xiao Zhan's temper flared at that, and he snapped back:
"So, what if I did bend the moment I met him? What if I wanted to bend for him? Is that not okay?!"
He said it boldly, without the slightest hint of guilt. Love is about two people—there's no logic to it. Jiang Cheng had been fuming, ready to blow up like fireworks and shake Xiao Zhan into sense, but hearing that line suddenly left him speechless.
Jiang Cheng went quiet, looking like he was about to break.
They were in Xiao Zhan's dorm. Jiang Cheng took a few steps back, collapsed onto the sofa, fists clenched so tightly that veins stood out on his neck.
Seeing him like that, Xiao Zhan finally felt a pang of guilt. No matter what, Jiang Cheng had always been incredibly good to him—beyond reason.
He blinked, sighed, and sat down beside him.
The air still buzzed faintly with the earlier shouting match, but now everything had fallen into a strange, uneasy silence.
After a moment, Xiao Zhan softened his voice.
"Jiang Cheng, just listen to the questions you asked me. You're thinking too far ahead. I just want to date someone. I don't even know how it's gonna go—maybe it'll last a long time, maybe we'll break up in a few days. Please... don't be this mad. You're the person I've known the longest. If things go bad between us, I'd be really scared."
Jiang Cheng snapped, "You would be scared?"
Xiao Zhan sighed again.
"I'd be scared you'd stop talking to me. That we couldn't be friends anymore. I've known you for as long as I can remember. I don't even know what life would look like without you."
Jiang Cheng let out a bitter, sarcastic laugh.
"If you're so afraid, why did you never accept my love? Why go and date Wang Yibo instead?"
Xiao Zhan opened his mouth like he wanted to argue but said nothing in the end.
Jiang Cheng turned to him. Xiao Zhan's lashes trembled, his expression was sad, and he was biting his lip.
That one look was enough to make Jiang Cheng's heart go soft again.
He stared at Xiao Zhan, a little dazed, and finally asked:
"Xiao Zhan... are you really not straight anymore?"
Xiao Zhan's brows were still drawn together. He looked down at his own hands, and after a moment said softly,
"I don't know. I just know that... I want to be with him."
Jiang Cheng nodded. After Xiao Zhan showed some vulnerability, most of his anger had faded too. He just felt a hollow emptiness inside—but even now, there was no thought of stopping his feelings for Xiao Zhan. He leaned back against the sofa—one he'd helped Xiao Zhan pick out. Xiao Zhan really liked Jiang Cheng's taste in furniture.
"Now that you're not straight anymore, do you still remember the promise we made? I know you're with Wang Yibo now. But if one day you two break up... come find me and give us a chance, okay?"
Even now, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but sneak in a hopeful plea—always scheming, always trying.
And of course, Xiao Zhan remembered what he'd said back then.
He looked up at Jiang Cheng with a sweet, obedient smile—but didn't say a word in reply.
***
Even within the same circle, Mo Ran also found it hard to accept.
It was only after Wang Yibo firmly rejected him that Mo Ran began to piece things together—and the more he thought about it, the more off it all seemed.
Wang Yibo had told him to cherish the person in front of him and even said, "I don't steal what belongs to others." That line— "don't steal what belongs to others"—was he talking about Nie Huaisang? But how would Wang Yibo even know that Nie Huaisang had been pursuing him? And how would he know that Mo Ran had rejected Nie Huaisang because of him?
Mo Ran had put in so much effort, and yet Wang Yibo had never once shown the slightest interest in his life.
...So, who told him?
The answer was obvious, practically leaping out.
Only someone within their circle, someone close to him, could've known. Wen Qing, Fang Tianze, Jiang Cheng, and Nie Huaisang didn't know Wang Yibo. They had no chance and no way to tell him anything.
Only Xiao Zhan.
Only Xiao Zhan had, at some point, gotten to know Wang Yibo. And he also happened to know about Mo Ran and Nie Huaisang's situation. Even if he didn't find out on his own, Wen Qing surely told him in conversation.
On the first day of summer break, Mo Ran found Xiao Zhan, and the two of them walked from the school to a nearby side path.
They were always a bit strange—friends who could eat, drink, and hang out together, who seemed to get along fine, who would check in and bring hot water if the other was sick. But whenever they were alone, a distance always crept in.
Maybe it was because they both knew how similar they were, in both appearance and personality.
Mo Ran didn't want to beat around the bush with Xiao Zhan. He got straight to the point.
"Did you tell Wang Yibo that I turned down Nie Huaisang because of him, and that's why Nie Huaisang stopped hanging out with everyone?"
Xiao Zhan seemed to be thinking. "It might've come up in conversation... I didn't go into details."
Mo Ran stared at him and said slowly,
"But you know what Wang Yibo is like. If you told him that, there's no way he would ever accept me."
Mo Ran didn't lose his temper, and Xiao Zhan stayed calm too. "I really didn't think that far at the time. It just came up."
Mo Ran spoke word by word. "Zhan Zhan, what was the point of doing that?"
Xiao Zhan picked up on the hidden implication in Mo Ran's tone. He frowned slightly and took a step forward.
"Mo Ran, I think there's been some misunderstanding between us."
Mo Ran met his gaze—it was like looking into a mirror. In the reflection, both sets of eyes flickered, each hiding their own thoughts.
He realized he'd been too careless. When exactly had Xiao Zhan met Wang Yibo? Was it before or after him? Was it after that motorcycle race? And what on earth had Xiao Zhan done to make Wang Yibo—who was always so reserved and aloof—look at him differently, maybe even develop feelings for him?
Had he just played to Wang Yibo's preferences? But Xiao Zhan didn't like motorcycles. His hobbies were completely different from Wang Yibo's.
Mo Ran kept looking into Xiao Zhan's eyes and shook his head. "I don't think this is a misunderstanding."
Just as he finished speaking, a clear, slightly deep voice came from behind.
"What are you talking about?"
Xiao Zhan looked up. Mo Ran turned around. They saw Wang Yibo standing not far away, holding a paper bag of pastries.