EAY Chapter 28

by Volare

Popular Qi Ye

The military training began, and the students were miserable. Qi Ye’s training in the countryside obviously paid off. His physique became much better, and he stood at attention under the sun with complete stability.

Qi Ye still didn’t like to talk when he arrived in the new class, just like before. Although he didn’t look as gloomy as before, Qi Ye obviously didn’t plan to make new friends. None of the people in the dormitory were in the same major as him, so he still kept to himself.

But soon, an incident during military training turned Qi Ye into a popular figure in the class.

The autumn tiger was really powerful, and its intensity was comparable to that of midsummer. The military officer in Qi Ye’s class looked kind, but was actually very strict. If one movement wasn’t done uniformly, the whole group had to practice standing at attention under the sun.

This day was unprecedentedly hot, and even Qi Ye felt that he couldn’t hold on. He kept hypnotizing himself that when he was doing farm work in the countryside during the summer vacation, he was also busy under the scorching sun. But as he hypnotized himself, he still couldn’t deceive himself. Standing still was much more uncomfortable than moving around. And even if it was just as hot, at least he had a straw hat to shade him at that time, and there were bright fruits to make him happy, and Grandpa was chatting next to him to distract him, and even Grandma would bring refreshing tea, and sometimes even snacks.

Just as Qi Ye was endlessly recalling the names of those snacks, with a “thump,” a figure fell in front of him. Before he could react, another “thump” sounded. The quiet and patient atmosphere suddenly became anxious. The instructor blew his whistle hard to keep them quiet, and pointed to two boys to send the fainted girls to the infirmary.

Actually, one of the boys was Qi Ye, who was very tall and conspicuous.

Qi Ye and the other male student didn’t dare to delay and immediately picked up the female student from the ground and walked quickly towards the infirmary.

The girl Qi Ye was carrying was very small and light. When he bent down, he only caught a glimpse of her pale lips.

The teacher at the infirmary shook her head repeatedly when she saw two more being sent in: “Don’t torture the students by standing at attention in such hot weather. The students are suffering, and I’m about to die from exhaustion. I haven’t rested all morning!”

Qi Ye wanted to return after sending the girl over, but the boy who came with him immediately grabbed his hand and said, panting: “Are you stupid? Why not take this opportunity to stay indoors and enjoy the air conditioning? Why go out and suffer.”

The infirmary was very cool, which was very different from the heat outside. It wasn’t that Qi Ye didn’t want to rest, but resting wouldn’t allow him to rest for longer, and the longer he stayed, the less he wanted to leave.

Qi Ye said: “Why don’t you pretend to faint too, and I’ll tell the instructor.”

“Really?” The boy’s eyes lit up, and then he immediately narrowed his eyes and lay down by the bed, giving Qi Ye a thumbs up, “Thanks!”

But when Qi Ye returned to the team, before he had time to report to the instructor, he was immediately called over again. It turned out that two more girls had fainted. Looking at their pale faces and cold sweats, it didn’t seem like they were faking it.

Qi Ye didn’t stop at all and started working as a “porter” again.

Almost half of the girls in the class had fallen down, and some boys had also fainted. Qi Ye carried seven girls by himself, almost without resting for a moment. Seeing this, the instructor finally started to panic a little. He probably didn’t expect the students’ physical fitness to be so delicate now, so he quickly dismissed them on the spot to rest.

When Qi Ye finished carrying people and returned to the dormitory, there wasn’t a single dry spot on his clothes from head to toe. The others in the dormitory hadn’t returned yet, so he quickly rushed into the bathroom to take a shower.

After a while, Meng Nan came back, also exhausted. He sat down and quickly turned on the small electric fan on the table. Then, Li Tianyi, supported by Shi Ran, also returned. They were both advertising majors and in the same class.

Young Master Li was tortured so badly by this military training that he was almost out of breath. As soon as he returned to the dormitory, he clamored to turn on the air conditioner. Meng Nan was concentrating on enjoying his fan and ignored him.

Shi Ran heard the sound of water in the bathroom, “Qi Ye came back first? That’s rare. Their class’s devil instructor actually let them go the earliest.”

Meng Nan’s class was closer to Qi Ye’s, so he said: “Many people in their class fainted. The instructor must be scared.”

As soon as Shi Ran heard this, he stood up: “Is Qi Ye okay?”

He wanted to knock on the bathroom door, but Li Tianyi’s voice stopped him: “With Qi Ye’s physique, even if everyone in the class falls down, he won’t fall.” Li Tianyi lay on the bed playing with his phone, complaining to his family and friends about the hardships of military training.

Meng Nan glanced at him: “You’re lying on the bed with all that sweat. Aren’t you usually so particular?”

“I won’t stink no matter how much I sweat. I smell good.” Li Tianyi said confidently, “People like you stink as soon as you sweat. Go wash up later, you’re making me stink.”

Meng Nan said helplessly: “I just don’t have the strength to hit you now. Wait until I recover.”

Li Tianyi didn’t care. When he saw the message from his friend, he widened his eyes in surprise and shouted, “Ah!” He sat up from the bed and held up his phone, “Qi Ye is famous!”

Shi Ran and Meng Nan didn’t know what he meant. Just then, the bathroom door opened, and Qi Ye came out wiping his hair, “You’re all back.”

Li Tianyi quickly jumped off the bed, ran to Qi Ye, and said happily: “Qi Ye, so you’re so awesome. You carried ten girls to the infirmary in a row. Awesome!”

Qi Ye said calmly: “Not that many, seven.”

Shi Ran thought Li Tianyi’s description was interesting but problematic. What did he mean by carrying ten girls in a row? The image of Qi Ye running with ten girls hanging on him appeared in his mind. It was terrible.

“That’s still awesome. You have to cross half the playground. Our school’s playground is so big. I get tired to death after running one lap. You have to run back and forth fourteen times. Seven of those times you’re carrying someone. So awesome!” Li Tianyi looked at him with admiration. “And that was after standing at attention for so long!”

Shi Ran asked: “Did many people in your class faint? Are you okay?”

Qi Ye smiled slightly and shook his head: “I’m okay.”

“Of course he’s okay. He’s the class’s little hero!” Li Tianyi pinched his arm. “Wow, you look thin, but your arm is so hard. Do you have abs? Let me see, let me see!”

“Hey, stop it.” Qi Ye pushed his hand away and sat down to replenish his water.

Meng Nan lazily blew on the fan in front of his desk and asked, “You’re so far away from Qi Ye’s class. How did you get the news so quickly?”

“I have a friend in Qi Ye’s class.” Li Tianyi said.

“Didn’t all your friends go to other places for college?” Meng Nan asked.

“Those are my best friends. I also have some ordinary friends at this school, the kind of relationship that’s okay to have or not, but they will definitely share gossip.” Li Tianyi said happily, “My friend said that Qi Ye has suddenly become famous among the girls. Now many girls have a very good impression of him, and it has spread to other classes.”

Li Tianyi said with infinite regret: “I originally thought that I would definitely be the first to get a girlfriend in our dormitory. Now it seems that Qi Ye will take the lead.”

Meng Nan said abruptly: “The girl who is with you in the future, I feel sorry for her.”

Li Tianyi immediately rushed over to hit him.

Qi Ye and Shi Ran didn’t take Li Tianyi’s words to heart. They had already seen that this young master always exaggerated when he spoke. Qi Ye was very hungry after taking a shower. Seeing that Shi Ran hadn’t washed yet, he asked him what he wanted to eat, and he would bring it back from the cafeteria.

“Wait for me to take a shower and go together. The noodles in the cafeteria are better when eaten fresh.” Shi Ran quickly got up to get his change of clothes.

“Okay.” Qi Ye responded with a smile. Shi Ran had recently become obsessed with the various noodles in the cafeteria. Qi Ye found that when Shi Ran liked a certain food, he would eat it every meal until he got tired of it. This was also very cute.

“Can you bring me a meal back, Qi Ye? Any dish is fine.” Meng Nan rubbed his legs after fighting with Li Tianyi, “I really don’t want to move.”

“Okay.” Qi Ye said, “I’ll order it with one meat and two vegetables as the standard.”

“Me too!” Li Tianyi smiled, “Bring me a copy too, two meat and one vegetable, thank you Qi Ye, Brother!”

Qi Ye was a little uncomfortable with this title and waved his hand: “Don’t call me that, it’s weird.”

“Then I’ll call you Brother Qi from now on.” Li Tianyi, with his thick skin, leaned over, “Brother Qi, if you have any troubles like too many suitors in the future, feel free to come to me. I can help you share them.”

Meng Nan snorted: “You’re talking so nicely. Isn’t it just asking Qi Ye to introduce you to a girlfriend?”

“You don’t understand. Our Brother Qi is such a low-key person. Having too many girls chasing him is a burden for him. I’m different. I just enjoy being sought after, the more the better.” Li Tianyi coughed lightly, “Of course, if there is a chance to meet cute girls, please help me set up a line, Brother Qi. I can pay to treat you to dinner, please, Brother Qi!”

Qi Ye kept backing away: “Don’t talk nonsense about things that don’t exist. I’ve never had any luck with girls since I was a child. This time is the same. Everyone is just too tired and bored during military training and are looking for a new topic. It will be over tomorrow.”

Qi Ye really didn’t think any girls would be interested in him. Besides, the person he liked just happened to be a boy.

So the kind of “grand occasion” that Li Tianyi mentioned would definitely not happen.

–

Shi Ran originally thought that Li Tianyi was exaggerating, but when he and Qi Ye went to the cafeteria, they realized that the rumors seemed a bit credible.

Shi Ran had been a popular figure since he was a child. He was used to being surrounded by classmates, but this was the first time he had seen so much attention like a celebrity.

Moreover, most of the girls in junior high and high school were relatively reserved. At most, Shi Ran received love letters. Shi Ran had never encountered such direct confessions a few times. But college was different. Shi Ran watched as girls walked up to Qi Ye one by one and directly expressed their affection for him or praised him.

Qi Ye’s reaction was very strange. He couldn’t see any joy, excitement, or surprise. Qi Ye seemed to be used to this kind of scene, politely and reservedly accepting the girls’ kindness to him.

I’m starting to not understand him again, Shi Ran thought silently.

Even more outrageous was that when they were queuing, the people in front of them actually gave them their places, letting them go to the front first.

Qi Ye waved his hand politely to say no, but the girls were too enthusiastic and almost pushed them to the window to order food first.

Even the cafeteria auntie said happily: “I heard about what you did. You’re a great young man.”

This was the case at several windows in a row. The cafeteria auntie’s hands didn’t shake at all. Qi Ye and Shi Ran’s soup noodles, as well as the meals packed for the two in the dormitory, were all piled high, as if they were being treated like leaders.

Because he felt that he was being watched all the time, Shi Ran felt that this meal was extremely long. He finished eating, but he didn’t know where he had eaten it.

On the way back to the dormitory, Qi Ye breathed a long sigh of relief. Only then did Shi Ran realize that he wasn’t indifferent at all.

Shi Ran laughed: “I thought you were used to such a welcome scene. You’re already a campus celebrity.”

Qi Ye scratched his head, “Don’t laugh at me, I don’t know what’s going on.”

He thought Li Tianyi was exaggerating in the dormitory, but he didn’t expect it to be true. While he was taking a shower, the world outside had changed.

“I don’t feel comfortable at all.” Qi Ye asked Shi Ran, “How do you usually deal with this kind of situation?”

Shi Ran smiled: “My situation is different from yours. I have good relationships, many friends, and some fans, but those are in the minority. There’s no way I have such an exaggerated stance as you. Even the cafeteria auntie is your fan when you eat. It’s too scary.”

“I also think it’s scary.” Qi Ye, who was used to being ignored, was suddenly subjected to so much attention. He was so scared that he didn’t even know how to walk. Fortunately, his disguise skills were superb. The more nervous he was, the colder he could pretend to be.

Qi Ye asked Shi Ran worriedly: “It should be over soon, right? It should be over after the military training is over.”

Just like there would be some handsome and popular instructors during this military training, which would also cause widespread discussion among the girls, and then when the military training ended and they returned to their daily campus life, everyone would gradually forget someone and new topic figures would appear.

“It should be.” Shi Ran comforted him, “You don’t have to worry too much. It’s a good thing to be popular. At least you can make more friends, and your university life will be more fulfilling.”

Qi Ye said directly: “But I don’t need other friends. I don’t need a very fulfilling campus life either.”

Then Shi Ran didn’t know what to do and could only let Qi Ye relax and let this attention that Qi Ye couldn’t bear slowly decrease.

Unfortunately, Qi Ye was still very popular even a month after the military training ended.

First of all, Qi Ye used himself as an example with those popular instructors. They were different in the first place. No matter how handsome or good the instructors were, they were not people from the school after all. They were just temporary visitors to the school, so the students would naturally forget them quickly. But Qi Ye was a student and one of them.

Secondly, Qi Ye’s personality of not liking to get attention actually helped to increase this attention. There was no shortage of other popular handsome guys in the school, but those people’s already high self-confidence would become even more inflated after receiving attention, thinking that the world would fall under their charm, and then the behavior and actions they showed would be a bit greasy, making people unable to accept them.

Qi Ye was different. He still respectfully thanked the girls who gave him love letters, politely and calmly rejected them, and then walked away freely. Some people also said that he was faking it, but after all, they were in the minority. Most people could still see clearly that he didn’t care about this so-called pursuit and was more comfortable if you ignored him.

“Thanks to our Brother Qi, I have a party to attend tomorrow, the birthday party of our department’s belle.” Li Tianyi and Shi Ran were on their way back to the dormitory together, and he was so proud that he was about to fly. “I just need to hand over this invitation letter to him. Oh, there will definitely be many cute girls tomorrow.”

Shi Ran burst his bubble: “Qi Ye won’t go.”

“I know, I know. The department belle is very generous and understands Brother Qi’s lonely personality. It doesn’t matter if he can’t come. Just record a happy birthday voice message.” Li Tianyi said.

Shi Ran defended Qi Ye: “He’s not lonely. He just doesn’t want to join in the fun. Is it okay to like peace and quiet?”

Li Tianyi didn’t care, “No matter what, it’s good to be popular. If I could be as popular as Brother Qi, I would be willing to be called an idiot.”

Shi Ran was too lazy to pay attention to him and quickened his pace forward. Li Tianyi quickly followed. They had just finished evening self-study, and the street lights on this road were so dim that he didn’t want to walk alone.

Li Tianyi was still talking incessantly: “You know, the meal that Brother Qi brought me during military training was the most I’ve ever eaten in our cafeteria. I was so full that I couldn’t finish it. Even the cafeteria auntie was conquered by Brother Qi. At that time, I had a hunch that the first one to get a girlfriend in our dormitory in the future would depend on Qi Ye. Now, I am about to become the first lucky one. Shi Ran, will you be next?”

Shi Ran was annoyed by his nagging, but he couldn’t help but ask: “Why isn’t Qi Ye the first one?”

Li Tianyi said confidently: “I’m talking about the person who is helped by Brother Qi. And how can a popular male god have a girlfriend? Once he has a girlfriend, he will lose most of his fans. Then what about us who want to take advantage of him? No way, no way.”

Shi Ran laughed angrily: “According to your crooked logic, Qi Ye can’t get a girlfriend until the three of us get girlfriends?”

“This is just my little wish. I’m not sure about this metaphysics of getting a girlfriend. And being popular is also metaphysics.” Li Tianyi hugged his arms and began to ponder again, “Looking at these facial features separately, I think I’m a little more handsome than Brother Qi. But what is it? He’s handsome in a special way. His skin is dark and he doesn’t like to smile. He has a tough guy temperament, and he just happened to perform very reliably at a critical moment. You know, there were other people in Qi Ye’s class who sent girls to the infirmary at that time, but some people stayed in the infirmary after carrying one trip, and some complained that the girls were weak, and some complained that the girls were too heavy to carry. You tell me, isn’t this contrast obvious?”

Shi Ran didn’t respond because he had always known that Qi Ye was the most reliable person. Because of Qi Ye, a miraculous reversal had happened to him. Compared to just carrying a few people, which was purely a matter of strength, he wouldn’t be surprised at all.

Li Tianyi asked Shi Ran again: “You are Brother Qi’s best friend, what kind of girl do you think he would like?”

Shi Ran only felt his throat dry. His first reaction to this question was uncomfortable. It was really strange.