Chapter 17: The Trip
The week flew by.
During that time, Bo Yan truly pushed all his schedules forward, so busy that he hardly returned to the dorm except for class; Bai Qi even received two photo retouching jobs.
The clients were very satisfied, and the studio paid him his salary and bonus early, totaling nearly six thousand yuan.
Bai Qi transferred four thousand to his mother; the remaining money made his finances much more comfortable.
As for the highly anticipated club trip, the class monitor and club president of Class 8 published the list early, without Bo Yan’s name, but many people were still unconvinced.
Ordinary fans were fine, constantly calling for privacy, but some extreme fans and paparazzi were completely unscrupulous, finding out the club’s meeting time and place, and waiting in ambush early.
On the morning of October 1st.
Zhang Cheng and Zhao Bin had gone home for the holiday; the dorm was empty, only Bai Qi. Even the corridor was very quiet.
Before leaving, Bai Qi subconsciously glanced at bed four. Bo Yan hadn’t returned to the dorm these days. They had only chatted a few times on WeChat; not being in the same department, they rarely saw each other in class. Bo Yan’s name wasn’t on the travel list, and he didn’t know if he would come this time.
It had been quite a while since they last met.
Bai Qi was somewhat solitary and habitually kept his guard up around others; at this moment, he suddenly realized that although they hadn’t known each other for many days, he seemed to care a lot about Bo Yan as a friend.
Perhaps because they shared some secrets… they seemed to have become close quickly.
Unfortunately, there was little overlap between celebrities and students; their friendship might just fade away.
Trying to ignore the slight sense of loss in his heart, Bai Qi dragged his suitcase to the meeting point.
As soon as he left the dorm, the class monitor sent a message, saying the meeting point had been changed to downstairs of the dormitory building.
He went downstairs in a daze, his slender arms carrying a large suitcase, looking particularly strenuous.
As soon as he left the dorm building, someone came to help.
“Let me help with that.”
A stranger in a white shirt took the suitcase, easily lifting it down the stairs for Bai Qi.
“Thank you so much,” Bai Qi’s hands were lightened, and he immediately expressed his gratitude.
“You’re welcome,” the boy was gentle and handsome, his voice soft, “My name is Li Mu Cheng, I’m from the Mathematics Department, and I just joined the Literature Society.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Bai Qi from the Chinese Department,” Bai Qi obediently introduced himself.
From the crowd in the distance, the class monitor looked at Bai Qi and Li Mu Cheng walking side-by-side with satisfaction.
A soft light fell on them; Bai Qi’s delicate face was as vibrant as a rose, and the handsome Li Mu Cheng beside him was like water nourishing the flower, gentle yet powerful.
Although their looks weren’t perfectly matched, their auras were compatible; it was more pleasing to the eye than when he was with Bo Yan; at least, there wasn’t that feeling of being swallowed up.
He knew this junior quite well. He had a gentle personality and clean private life; much better than Lin Feng, who pretended to be gentle. He should be the type Bai Qi would like.
And even if he didn’t like him, it didn’t matter.
The class monitor smiled warmly at the seniors and juniors around him who were captivated by Bai Qi. So many handsome guys and academic overachievers, all of whom he had vetted. He believed there would be someone Bai Qi liked.
At this time, Bai Qi saw the group of people waiting for the trip to begin, his beautiful eyes subconsciously searching, not seeing Bo Yan.
An inexplicable sense of loss washed over Bai Qi; he couldn’t help himself and wanted to send Bo Yan a WeChat message.
Before he could take out his phone, many people came to greet him, both male and female. Everyone was open and enthusiastic, making it easy to relax in an unfamiliar environment.
Bai Qi envied their ease, but he couldn’t help being nervous; he hadn’t participated in many club activities before, and there weren’t many people he knew at a glance.
After responding politely to everyone, he quickly walked to the class monitor.
Whether it was coincidence or something else, gradually, more and more people gathered around him and the class monitor.
Surrounded by unfamiliar auras, Bai Qi awkwardly tightened his grip on the handle of his suitcase, quietly asking: “Class monitor, are we going to the East Gate now?”
“No, I applied for a school bus,” the class monitor said, then looked into the distance, his eyes brightening, “Here it comes!”
Bai Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief, following the crowd’s gaze towards the school bus approaching.
The yellow school bus drove slowly; there were about twenty people going on the trip this time, enough to sit comfortably.
Everyone was close together, chatting easily, with a strong sense of anticipation for the trip.
However, as the bus stopped in front of them, the crowd fell silent.
The window wasn’t closed; a handsome, sharp face appeared in front of everyone, his dark eyes gazing over, with a piercing coldness, as if even making eye contact would cause injury.
His shoulders were broad and straight, even sitting, he had a striking comic-like presence.
“Bo Yan’s here!”
Someone exclaimed, and the crowd instantly became a little restless. Top stars were truly different from ordinary people, especially Bo Yan, whose looks were renowned in the entertainment industry; he was too handsome to be real.
No one expected him to come; many people couldn’t help but secretly admire Bai Qi for actually inviting a celebrity.
However, many others subconsciously tensed up.
Especially those close to Bai Qi. Li Mu Cheng instinctively frowned, then relaxed.
Seeing everyone stunned, the class monitor quickly said: “Let’s get on the bus quickly, before we get blocked by the paparazzi.”
Now everyone finally understood why the class monitor had suddenly changed the location; taking advantage of the fact that they hadn’t been discovered, they quickly boarded the bus.
Bo Yan’s gaze followed Bai Qi, but his brows furrowed imperceptibly.
So many annoying people.
Bai Qi’s height was lost in the crowd, but his beautiful face stood out, like a small honey cake dropped into an anthill, everyone looking at him intentionally or unintentionally.
Bo Yan suppressed the violent surge in his heart, closing the dating guide on his phone screen.
The book said that when pursuing someone, you shouldn’t always be by their side; appropriate separation can give each other space, helping to increase longing.
He didn’t know if Bai Qi had missed him these days… but he missed Bai Qi so much he was going crazy.
Leaning back against the seat, Bo Yan lowered his gaze, hiding the frightening bloodshot eyes.
Soon, everyone boarded the bus. Bo Yan sat on the outer side of a double seat; the inner seat by the window was empty.
Many people wanted to sit there, not just fans, but many ordinary students wanted to befriend a celebrity.
However, Bo Yan was too cold; exceptionally handsome people naturally have a sense of distance. When someone finally mustered the courage to softly ask if they could sit inside, Bo Yan shook his head.
Many people couldn’t help but look at Bai Qi.
Soon Bai Qi got on the bus and immediately saw Bo Yan leaning back against the seat with his eyes closed.
Finally seeing him in person, he suddenly felt shy.
Bo Yan, at this moment, was more like a cold and aloof celebrity than his roommate.
Before, their interactions were always initiated by Bo Yan, and Bai Qi passively accepted. This time, Bo Yan hadn’t contacted him much for a week, and now he had his eyes closed and didn’t intend to talk to him. Bai Qi didn’t know what to do.
Besides, Bo Yan was sitting on the outer side of the double seat, perhaps he simply didn’t want to sit next to anyone.
Bai Qi pursed his lips, hesitantly walking towards the back, wanting to go to the last row.
However, as he passed Bo Yan, his wrist was grabbed.
Countless eyes were looking over; he heard Bo Yan’s almost pleading murmur.
“Can you sit here? I only know you.”
Bo Yan’s voice was extremely soft, his eyelashes lowered, his skin so cold and white it was almost transparent, and there seemed to be bloodshot eyes.
Such a cold person rarely showed vulnerability, Bai Qi’s heart was instantly struck, feeling a strong protective urge for the first time in his life.
He regretted his earlier overthinking. Bo Yan had been invited by him on the trip; he should have taken good care of him. How could he just leave him there and sit by himself?
The sense of distance was completely gone. Bai Qi stopped, naturally letting Bo Yan sit inside, while he sat on the aisle side.
Various gazes came over, but Bai Qi rarely felt the urge to escape.
He would protect Bo Yan.