396: Chapter 396 Have you read... the books by the Dream Weaver of Hell?

The moment Su Mubai and his group walked out of the side door,

the tension that had been taut in the lecture hall all morning finally relaxed.

The thirty people remained rooted in their seats, as if their bodies were still trapped in the article they had just read, unable to return for the time being.

Some lay motionless on their desks, while others stared blankly at the empty screen.

The entire classroom was permeated with the exhaustion typical of finishing a major exam, only this class had been heavier than anyone had anticipated.

The sounds of packing up began to ring out sporadically.

The sound of zippers, chairs moving, and footsteps.

Every sound was half a beat slow, as if their brains were still soaked in those words from earlier and couldn't be wrung dry just yet.

Lin Que packed up the pen on his desk and stood up.

Xu Changge stood up almost at the same time. The two exchanged a glance in the aisle and, without saying a word, walked out in tacit agreement.

A series of hurried footsteps came from behind them.

Chen Jiahao caught up in a few strides, forcing his way to Lin Que's other side and sandwiching him in the middle.

His eyes were still red; his mouth opened twice, but he simply couldn't find a suitable opening line.

The three of them pushed open the glass doors of the teaching building and stepped into the September afternoon sunlight.

On the tree-lined path of Qingbei, the leaves of the French plane trees rustled in the wind, and spots of light leaked through the gaps in the canopy, shattering across the ground.

Xu Changge walked to the left of Lin Que. After being silent for most of the way, he suddenly spoke up.

"That day you finished telling that story in the dorm, I started writing that very night."

His speaking speed was a bit slower than usual.

"I thought I already understood that framework."

His pace was a bit slower than usual, his voice carrying a sense of composure after being seen through.

"I only realized just now that I still haven't grasped it."

Xu Changge was silent for a couple of steps before finishing his sentence.

"I didn't expect that on the same framework, something like this could grow."

Chen Jiahao, walking on the other side, immediately chimed in.

"Young Master Xu, let me tell you, Master Que's brain structure is definitely not the same model as ours."

He tapped his temple, his tone carrying a kind of convinced fanaticism.

"Did you see Old Su's expression just now?

The old man critiqued twenty-nine pieces and only took off his glasses once—just this once. For that one piece."

His voice wasn't quiet; two passing Qingbei students glanced back at them.

This was the first time Chen Jiahao had taken the initiative to talk to Xu Changge since entering the camp.

Before, when the two met, they would at most give a nod, as polite and distant as two walls.

Hearing the words 'Young Master Xu,' Xu Changge's footsteps paused slightly.

He turned his head to look at Chen Jiahao, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

The smile was very faint, but very clean.

The habitual reserve typical of a scion from a prestigious family was completely shed at this moment.

"Just call me Changge or Jingwen. A title like 'Young Master Xu' really sounds a bit..."

Chen Jiahao was stunned for a moment, then grinned.

"Alright then. I thought everyone in the Capital called each other that."

Lin Que, walking in the middle, looked at the serious expressions on both sides and casually nudged Chen Jiahao with his elbow.

"Watch fewer of those brain-rotting wealthy family dramas in the future; watching too many will make you stupid.

Always 'Young Master' this and 'Young Master' that—do you think this is the Republican era or some idol drama?"

Chen Jiahao pouted, while Xu Changge beside him had already burst out laughing.

That laugh was light, but it carried far along the quiet, tree-lined path.

After laughing, Xu Changge himself was momentarily stunned,

as if he hadn't expected the tension he'd been holding all this time to loosen because of such a silly joke.

The three of them continued walking forward.

At some point, Chen Jiahao had opened a pack of wafers. He took a bite himself and stuffed a piece into both Lin Que's and Xu Changge's hands.

When they had walked about fifty meters, something caught Chen Jiahao's peripheral vision.

He stopped talking and tilted his chin slightly forward, signaling Lin Que to look.

Ahead on the tree-lined path, an old ginkgo tree cast a large shadow.

In the deepest part of the shadow, a thin figure wearing a dark baseball cap leaned against the trunk,

hands stuffed in his hoodie pockets, looking as if he had grown out of that shadow.

Dan Yi.

He just stood there, not looking at his phone or finding a place to sit.

Embedded in the shadow, he looked like he had been standing there for a long time and was prepared to keep standing there for much longer."

Lin Que blinked and looked at Chen Jiahao.

"Your roommate is waiting for you."

Chen Jiahao's expression immediately became one of utter despair.

"Give me a break."

He deliberately lowered his voice, imitating Dan Yi's deep, almost distorted tone, and intentionally added a bit of a Northern Border accent.

"Last night I asked him if he was nervous about Old Su's class tomorrow. Guess how he answered me?"

Chen Jiahao cleared his throat and dropped his voice two octaves.

"'Close the window.'"

Xu Changge couldn't help but laugh again.

But after laughing, he looked at the lonely silhouette under the ginkgo tree in the distance, and the corners of his mouth slowly pulled back.

"Dan Yi grew up in a border city; his personality seems aloof and prickly,"

Xu Changge's voice softened slightly.

"At the Capital launch event, that reporter made an issue of his lineage. With so many people gathered around, he didn't say a word, but his whole body was shaking.

That kind of shaking wasn't fear; it was endurance."

Chen Jiahao's smile slowly faded.

The three of them walked up to the ginkgo tree.

Xu Changge was the first to speak, his tone as gentle as if he were greeting a neighbor he had just met.

"Dan Yi, want to head back together?"

Dan Yi's body moved.

The grayish-blue eyes under the brim of his cap flickered, his gaze sweeping past Xu Changge's face,

then quickly glancing at Chen Jiahao, before finally stopping in some indeterminate direction.

He shook his head slightly.

The movement was small, but the refusal was clear.

Lin Que stood there, his gaze falling on Dan Yi's hands hanging in his hoodie pockets.

The brim of the cap hid most of his face, but it couldn't hide the subtle tension in his shoulders.

That kind of tension wasn't defensiveness; it was the stiffness of someone standing at the edge of a diving board, not yet decided on whether to jump.

"You need something from me, right?"

Lin Que's tone was flat, without the inflection of a question, sounding more like a statement.

Dan Yi's lips pursed.

A vague syllable squeezed out of his throat, then was swallowed back down.

His Adam's apple bobbed, as if something were stuck there, unable to be swallowed or spat out.

Two seconds later, he gave a heavy nod.

The force of that nod was three times stronger than the head shake when Xu Changge had invited him.

Chen Jiahao raised an eyebrow, immediately reading the atmosphere.

"Well then, he's specifically waiting for you."

He patted Lin Que's shoulder and turned to tilt his chin at Xu Changge.

"Let's go, give them some space."

Xu Changge glanced at Lin Que, nodded slightly, and walked side-by-side with Chen Jiahao toward the dorms.

The two figures slowly shrank as they walked down the tree-lined path.

Chen Jiahao said something, and Xu Changge turned his head to reply, a faint low laugh drifting back.

Only when those two figures completely disappeared around the corner did it become quiet under the ginkgo tree again.

Lin Que turned back to look at Dan Yi.

The September wind blew through the canopy, knocking down a few leaves that hadn't yet turned yellow, which landed on the ground between the two of them.

Just as Lin Que was about to ask what was wrong, Dan Yi moved.

He pushed the brim of his cap up a bit, revealing his entire face, his gaze fixed intensely on Lin Que.

The intensity of his gaze was completely different from what it had been in the classroom.

There was something extremely complex surging in those eyes.

No hostility, no probing.

It was more like someone who had been holding their breath underwater for too long and finally surfaced,

only to suddenly find another bubble on the surface, unsure if there was another living person beneath it,

but he no longer had the strength to keep enduring.

"Have you read... Hell Dream Weaver's books?"

...