In Lu Yitong's eyes, the man sitting across from Gu Pan was definitely a handsome dude.

　　It wasn't just about looks. The key was the man's mature charm. He was confident and composed, as if he had seen it all. Yet, in a few casual nods and smiles, there was a moment when his eyes unexpectedly welled up. They spoke of a deep emotional bond he still held with some place or someone in this world.

　　And that moment happened to be caught by Lu Yitong passing by the "Time Corridor". Experienced, yet without visible worldliness. Detached from the mundane, hence richly dimensional. This was the epitome of perfection in the eyes of a young girl.

　　"Gu Pan, the way he looks at you is quite intriguing," Lu Yitong said, lying on the floor where Gu Pan's snores were starting to fill the room.

　　"Hmm?" Gu Pan woke up again, seeming more sensitive to Lu's voice, "Hmm, go ahead and let it rip. Just remember to sprinkle in more adjectives... you keep going!"

　　"I think he looks at you like he's looking at a lover." Lu Yitong was responding to Gu Pan's encouragement, laying out her most genuine thoughts.

　　"Besides not doing anything stupid, one more reminder, cut down on the nonsense," Gu Pan rolled over.

　　"Really. Maybe you were too busy eating. You missed the subtle warmth he was sending your way." Lu Yitong brushed her thick bangs aside, revealing her eyes and blinked a couple of times, even though Gu Pan couldn't see it.

　　"What the heck, that's just a load of bull!" Gu Pan felt a mix of irritation and amusement. Hearing Lu Yitong's interpretation of his attractiveness felt utterly absurd. "Seriously, what a load of hogwash!"

　　"It's not hogwash at all! Just hear me out!" Lu Yitong used recent obsessions of their dorm sisters with same-sex themed novels and TV dramas to open up a new world to Gu Pan.

　　"Both of you are what they call 'side profile killers', but you come off as more 'dominant'. Haha, if I took a picture and showed it to my bestie, she'd definitely say 'sugar daddy'..."

　　"What sugar daddy? What does that have to do with a sugar daddy? Are you saying he's not going to end well?" Gu Pan half-closed his eyes, feeling half asleep.

　　"Well, this is a term used by our fandom. CP, ever heard of it?" Lu Yitong's drowsiness vanished as she successfully brought Gu Pan into her realm.

　　"I only snack on pumpkin seeds during the Chinese New Year, they're better than watermelon seeds, thin skin, crunchy..."

　　"Do you know what's the best to ship? Yaoi CP! That's male-male love. It's so addictive!"

　　"Disgusting, isn't it?" Gu Pan was now seventy percent awake after touching upon certain prejudices and revealing his narrow-mindedness. Although he didn't think it was wrong to express his true feelings in private. "Oh, sorry."

　　"Not disgusting, when it's two hot guys together, it's not disgusting. There's a threshold. Look at novels, TV shows, where do you see ugliness? We have so much fun shipping!"

　　"What's fun about it?" Gu Pan turned over.

　　"As for me, it's just fine. My bestie is a crazy person. I haven't read enough online articles. There are a lot of physical books piled up in the dormitory. I wait for the radio drama to be updated at a fixed time every week, that kind of thing, some bridges Before Duan arrives, there will be a barrage to remind you to wear earphones. She said that you will enjoy double pleasure when you have sex with two good-looking men and two magnetic male voices that are both strong and soft. ! Besides, the female characters are either stupid or arrogant, but they are always bad. It feels good to see them clean. "

　　

　　"Oh... Knock on the experts." Gu Pan seemed to have some realization. He considered himself unqualified to express an opinion on an unfamiliar field. The "objective and fair" way of thinking that he gradually developed as an adult made him agree that if something can make some people enjoy it, whether it is long-term or short-term, it must be reasonable. "Well, you continue."

　　

　　"Actually, she has another psychological reason that she didn't say, or refused to admit. That is, since she can't get a high-quality man, other women can't even think of getting it. Even if it's a man far away... Haha, men are... The man took it away, and his heart stopped panicking when he thought about it!"

　　

　　"Living by imagination is quite powerful..." Gu Pan was finally defeated by sleepiness, and escaped from the self-pleasure world she had built amidst Lu Yitong's "What, what?"

　　Lu Yitong stared wide-eyed all night until the break of dawn.

　　She tiptoed out of bed, sneaking off to freshen up. Returning to the bedroom, she didn't throw herself at Gu Pan as she did last time, shedding all her inhibitions. Instead, she leaned in close to her crush, admiring his handsome face as he slept peacefully. High nose bridge, thick lashes. His short hair accentuated his forehead, making her itch to kiss it.

　　"Gu Pan, you're such a good boy when you're asleep! Not arguing with me, not avoiding the topic. You know I like you, but how good are you at playing it cool! You're a master at it. But..." Lu Yitong lifted her chin, as if her imaginary opponent in the air was challenging her, and she had to strike back immediately. "But, loving you is my own business!"

　　Lu Yitong used up all the ingredients in the fridge, making two breakfasts. After finishing one, she left a note next to the other, "Heat it up, it's cold outside."

　　She changed her shoes and prepared to leave. As she bent down to tie her laces, she glanced again at the mysterious bedroom that always remained unoccupied.

　　Its occupant was a mystery. Every time she deliberately or accidentally stayed overnight here, this roommate seemed to predict it and stayed out all night. Thinking about it, this was one of the reasons she had stayed up all night.

　　Another thing had been circling in her mind for a while. She remembered at the police station, the police had kindly reminded her "boyfriend" Gu Pan not to let his girlfriend go out alone at night in the future. They even mentioned a case from three years ago in City A, where a lone woman was attacked at night and died.

　　But Gu Pan's reaction at the time was unusually calm. It didn't seem like the first time he had heard of it. He just lowered his head, hands in his pockets, seemingly hoping the police would skip the details and end the gruesome tale as soon as possible.

　　Lu Yitong didn't understand. When the bloodshed occurred, she and Gu Pan were still in high school in County B. They both arrived in this strange city on the same day afterward. So how did Gu Pan find out about this notorious old case that, although bloody, was limited to the sensation of the whole city? But perhaps, she was overthinking it.

　　While Gu Pan was still asleep, Lu Yitong tip-toed back.

　　She squatted by the side of the mattress, staring at Gu Pan's motionless features. From his eyebrows, eye sockets, nose, to his lips. She carefully examined each detail.

　　His mouth was slightly open, emitting a low, non-disturbing snore. She loved listening to it, found it soothing, wanted to hear it every day. Only the noises from her brother's vocal cords and nasal cavity weren't noise.

　　She lightly touched the corner of Gu Pan's lips with her fingertips. This superior-shaped mouth had once invited her to explore the sensation of a kiss outside the grand theater. That moonlit night was intoxicating for her. But this mouth, most of the time, gave her bland yet incredibly "cruel" words. Each word seemed to challenge her self-esteem.

　　"What am I going to do with you? What am I going to do with myself?" Lu Yitong knelt, two tears rolling down.

　　Gu Pan returned home after finishing his shift at the bakery. Most of the snow on the main road in the neighborhood had melted away, but there were still small clumps clinging to the grass and evergreen branches, looking cute as babies.

　　The bedroom light in Linghanlu's apartment was on. The curtains were thin, allowing him to see a figure rise and leave, only to return a minute later. Arms stretched, circling around, then sitting back down.

　　"If I knock on the door now, would she open it?" Gu Pan wondered. "I heard the police talking about your husband's case. Even though he didn't mention names, I know which case it was. Do you know how scared I was? If, back then, they hadn't caught the culprit, hadn't brought him to justice, would you have ended up as another lost soul? How would he have treated you? Would the blade of the utility knife have landed on your skin? When he cut open your body and saw your beating heart in your chest, would he have regained his conscience? Like everyone else you've touched with your warmth."

　　Ten minutes later, Gu Pan was driven away by the gradually arrogant cold.

　　Back at his place, Lu Yitong's note was still lying on the table, glaring at him. There were no hearts drawn at the end of the sentences, but she had made a heart-shaped fried egg. Gu Pan didn't believe this was Li Danxia's idea, but he could see his mother's satisfied smile.

　　He logged onto the website to see if "Xin Yuan" had any new works. However, "this guy is lazy," so he had to browse through past works.

　　In the video, a hot spring was enveloped in pristine white snow. There were no virtual characters in the frame, but steam lingered over the water, and the fruit platter by the pool was filled with red, yellow, green, and purple, while wine glasses held vibrant liquids. Not far away on the pebble ground lay two pristine white bathrobes.

　　"Could this be one of a woman's ideal living scenes?" Gu Pan thought, and then left a message for the author.

　　That night, he dreamt of Linghanlu offering him a deep purple grape. Then, the woman left the hot spring dripping wet, wrapped herself in the bathrobe on the pebble ground, and gracefully disappeared...