Chapter 495: Day 23 into the Alien War Story

Chapter 495: The Twenty-Third Day in an Alien War Story

The cafeteria, the library, the classroom buildings, the paths by the dorms... He'd memorized An Yi's schedule, knowing An Yi had advanced mathematics on Monday morning, theoretical physics on Tuesday afternoon, an elective Wednesday night... and on Friday morning—which was now—two physics major classes in this Building No. 3.

He knew this was wrong.

He knew he was acting like a lowlife criminal, a sick, twisted stalker.

Every time he stood here, he could feel the intense self-loathing welling up from deep inside him.

But he couldn't stop himself.

That urge to see An Yi was like an addiction carved into his bones—once it hit, it stripped away every shred of reason and dignity.

People were still streaming out.

And then he saw him.

An Yi walked out of the teaching building.

Not alone.

Three people were around him—Chen Heguang, Shi Luo, Zhang Yuankai—his roommates.

They weren't even in the same major, so why were they all walking out of the building together at this hour?

But there they were, all together.

The four of them walked side by side, shoulders brushing, steps in perfect sync, looking as comfortable together as old friends who'd known each other for years.

Chen Heguang was talking, waving his hands around, hamming it up, Shi Luo pushed up his glasses, and Zhang Yuankai tilted his head.

And An Yi...

An Yi was in the middle.

He tilted his head a little, listening to Chen Heguang.

A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, his eyes warm with gentle amusement—the kind of smile An Cheng used to know by heart but now felt impossibly far away.

That was An Yi.

He was supposed to be *his* An Yi!

An Cheng's fingers slowly curled into fists in his pockets, nails nearly digging into his palms.

He watched the scene—watched how easily An Yi moved through the crowd, watched him laugh and chat with people he'd only known for nine days...

His chest ached.

They were heading his way.

Along the tree-lined path, straight toward him.

The four of them walked side by side, and An Cheng instinctively stepped half a step further back into the tree's shadow.

He pulled his hood down lower, chin nearly tucked into his collar.

From this angle, someone passing by on the road shouldn't be able to make out the figure under the tree.

He'd tested this out over the past few days.

But...

An Yi's gaze swept over, then stopped.

For a split second, An Cheng almost stopped breathing.

He saw An Yi's eyes narrow just a fraction.

In those eyes—always so gentle, so calm—something barely perceptible flickered. Surprise? Recognition? Or... disgust?

Had he noticed him?

Would he be pissed?

Pissed that his own brother was lurking in the shadows like some creep, secretly following him, watching him?

Would he get furious? Would he march over and, right in front of his roommates, coldly demand, "What the hell do you want?"

Or would he come over and talk to him?

An Cheng's heart slammed against his ribs, like it might burst out of his chest.

He waited.

Time seemed to stretch, each second shattering into tiny fragments, each one reflecting a different possibility—anger, cold indifference, a confrontation.

But nothing came of it.

Just then, Chen Heguang said something funny, and An Yi turned his head, smiling as he replied.

That smile was so natural, so easy—eyes crinkling, lips curving up at just the right angle.

As if that brief moment of eye contact had never even happened.

The four kept walking, passing right by the tree where An Cheng was hiding.

When they were closest, An Cheng caught fragments of their conversation:

"...I heard the cafeteria's got a special today. Wanna go check it out?"

"Don't bother. I tried it—it's awful! Not as good as the eggplant at the second cafeteria."

"An Yi, I still haven't fully gotten that derivation you explained last time. Can you walk me through it again this afternoon?"

"Yeah, sure."

And then they were gone, walking past him.

No pause. No turning back. Not even a flicker of hesitation.

An Cheng stood there until their figures vanished around the corner, until their laughter faded completely into the wind, a cold, suffocating weight pressing on his chest.

He didn't come over.

Why didn't he come over?!

Had he not noticed?

No! He knew!

An Cheng knew An Yi had figured it out.

An Yi was always so sharp, so in tune with everything.

How could he not have seen him under that tree?

But he just didn't come over.

That disregard hurt more than anger, cut deeper than any accusation.

It was like a dull knife, sawing at An Cheng's heart—no blood, just pain.

An Cheng looked down, blinking. His eyes were a little wet, but he didn't let it turn into tears.

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Back in the dorm.

When An Yi pushed the door open, the other three roommates were all there.

Chen Heguang was lying on his bed playing a game, with loud game sounds and teammates yelling through his phone.

His fingers flew across the screen as he muttered, "Push in," "Don't be a wimp," "I'm on my way."

Shi Luo was at his desk, pen scratching across the paper as he worked through line after line of complex equations.

He was frowning slightly, his glasses sliding down his nose, but he didn't even notice.

Zhang Yuankai was on the balcony stretching, arms up, bending side to side, humming some off-key tune—if you listened closely, it sounded like the chorus of some pop song, but he was way off-key.

"Back?" Chen Heguang poked his head out from his bunk, eyes glued to the screen.

"Yeah." An Yi placed his backpack on the chair, then took out a takeout box from the bag and set it on Chen Heguang's desk. "Brought you this—eggplant rice from the second canteen."

Chen Heguang's eyes lit up. He stopped playing the game and sat up: "You're the best!"

His voice went all high and squeaky, dripping with over-the-top flattery.

An Yi waved a hand, a small smile at the corner of his mouth. "At ease."

"An Yi." Shi Luo pushed up his glasses and turned around. "Should we all grab dinner this weekend? Chen Heguang says he knows a good BBQ spot."

An Yi paused to think.

His fingers unconsciously ran along the zipper of his jacket, from top to bottom.

"I can't this week," he said, his voice soft. "I've got something going on this weekend."

Shi Luo watched that finger slide down the zipper for a good two seconds—slender, clean, with defined knuckles and neat nails—before he snapped out of it. "Oh... yeah, okay! Next week then!"

A faint flush crept up his face.

An Yi smiled. "Sure."

Shi Luo's face got even redder. He ducked his head, pretending to get back to his work, but the pen just scratched a crooked line across the page.

Zhang Yuankai walked in from the balcony and patted An Yi on the shoulder. "An Yi, wanna partner up for this afternoon's policy report? I don't want to be stuck with Chen Heguang."

"Hey! Why not?" Chen Heguang looked up from his meal. "What's wrong with me?"