It was noisy outside, so after drinking some water, Zheng PingQing got up to see what was happening. But when he got to the living room, he was met with a truly shocking scene.

  The sofa, coffee table, and all the other furniture had been moved towards the wall, and the rug had also been rolled up and placed to the side. It left a vast and open space in the middle, fully showcasing Zheng PingQing’s extraordinary family circumstances.

  But right now, nobody was concerned about Zheng PingQing and his circumstances. Instead, they were all standing in a row, nervously staring down towards the living room floor, shouting, “Come on!” or “We can’t lose!” or “The pride of Class 8 depends on you!”


  Zheng PingQing followed everyone’s line of sight and saw Lou XingGuang and Jiang TingJun crouching on the ground, their butts sticking up in the air. Both of their hands held rags that were pressed to the floor.

  Zheng PingQing had no idea what was happening, so he tried to look for Lin Qian, only to see him sitting on the sofa against the wall. He was lazily sipping some water, his expression a stark contrast to the other high-school boys in the room.

  Zheng PingQing walked towards him and asked: “What’s going on?”


  Dong MingEn, who had noticed him first, happily waved Zheng PingQing over. “Boss, we’re doing a cleaning game, come and cheer us on!”


  Zheng PingQing: “.……?”


  Lin Qian also turned towards Zheng PingQing and patted the space beside him. With a smile, he said: “Come, we can watch together.”


  Zheng PingQing went and sat next to Lin Qian on the sofa. Still confused, he asked again: “What’s happening?”


  Lin Qian spread his hands and explained: “I told them they had to clean the house before they could leave, and they ended up making a game out of it. They raced on who could clean the windows the fastest, then who could make their beds the fastest, then with cleaning the cabinets and tables, and now, its the final match- who can clean the floor better……”


  Zheng PingQing: “.……” He glanced around the room and realized that the room really was sparkling. Even the auntie that usually came to clean had never made the house shine this bright.

  “Oh, and also,” Lin Qian added, “Right now the score is 2:1, with my class leading by a point.”


  Zheng PingQing was surprised. “Does studying and doing homework give you an advantage in doing housework?” Zheng PingQing looked at his top-scorer boyfriend, who had a natural talent when it came to teasing him.

  Right after he said this, Zheng PingQing had a moment of silence……fuck, why was he focusing on that? Shouldn’t he be asking why these people were doing something so retarded in the first place?

  Lin Qian replied: “It has nothing to do with studying. It’s just that your friends’ destructive powers are too strong. Dong MingEn managed to break two vases while wiping some tables.” Lin Qian tilted his chin towards a nearby trash can filled with broken glass.

  Zheng PingQing: “.……it’s a good thing we don’t buy antiques.”


  As they continued to chat, they didn’t notice the jittery Gou XinDou nearby, aiming his laser eyes towards them. He had been uneasy the moment Zheng PingQing appeared.

  Gou XinDou watched Zheng PingQing sit next to Lin Qian, and talk like they were the only ones in each other’s eyes. Zheng PingQing then picked up the glass of water Lin Qian had set aside and……casually took a sip.

  Gou XinDou: !!!!

  Lin Qian just drank from that glass! He saw it with his own eyes!

  For the first time in his life, Gou XinDou hated the fact that he knew so much. His soul was practically escaping his body when he finally turned his eyes away. He didn’t dare look at Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing again.

  Meanwhile, with a shout from Xu Yao, the game officially began.

  Like a horse, Lou XingGuang kicked with all his might, his hands pushing the rag underneath him forward. Like a ship turbine, you could even see surging water fling upwards behind him……

  Like an engine, he was even making sounds: “Hummm——Hummm——”


  Jiang TingJung’s momentum wasn’t as explosive as Lou XingGuang, but he was also pushing forward, murmuring to himself as he traveled in an orderly line.

  Standing to the side were their friends, all excitedly shouting:

  “XingGuang, hurry up, you’re the best—”


  “Come on Jiang TingJun, come on Jiang TingJun step on it—”


  As everyone cheered, the two competitors soon reached the finish line almost at the same time. Then with a flick, they immediately turned around and started wiping back again.

  In this way, they ran in circles, until the floor space allocated to each of them was wiped clean.

  “Finished!” Jiang TingJun was the first to stand up and raise his rag.

  “I’m finished!” Lou XingGuang was just behind him.

  “It’s useless.” Xu Yao proudly exclaimed. “Jiang TingJun was faster, he won.”


  Dong MingEn shouted out: “Not necessarily! Even if he’s faster, that doesn’t mean he cleaned better. I want to apply as a referee!”


  Zheng PingQing looked at the two high school boys arguing about who was better at cleaning floors. He was speechless for a good long while. The corner of his mouth curving up, he turned to Lin Qian and asked: “We still need referees for this lousy sort of competition?”


  “Yep.” Lin Qiancalmly answered Zheng PingQing, then stood up. “Give way, give way, let this referee through.”


  Zheng PingQing: “.……”


  Lin Qian paced through each end of the room, carefully looking at every corner, before finally noticing a spot with some dirt in Jiang TingJun’s area. Lin Qian solemnly called out: “I now declare the winner of this game to be Lou XingGuang from team ‘Seven Melons on a Vine’”


  Lou XingGuang, Dong MingEn, and Zhou Daota cheered: “We won, we won!”


  Jiang TingJun implored: “No way! I formulated an exact route that not only cleaned every bit of the floor, but also gets the most friction between the rag and the floor. Every single one of my actions was flawless!”


  Lou XingGuang: “.……?”


  Dong MingEn couldn’t help but tilt his head. “What the hell are you talking about?”


  Lin Qian patted Jiang TingJung on the shoulder. “Your theory is sound, but your practical abilities are still a little lacking.”


  Referee Lin Qian announced the final results: “All events are now finished, with teams ‘Seven Melons on a Vine’ and ‘Armadillo’ tying 2:2.”


  “Ahh, we almost won.” Jiang TingJun, who had been heavily invested in the game, was distraught. “Next time, I have to include practical errors in my calculations.”


  Dong MingEn wasn’t satisfied with the results either. “I still think our ‘Seven Melons’ were slightly better.”


  Zheng PingQing finally couldn’t help but ask: “.……why ‘Seven Melons’?”


  Dong MingEn answered: “Lin Qian suggested that we call ourselves ‘Seven Flowers on a Vine,’ but that’s too girly, so we decided to change it to ‘Seven Melons.’”


  Zheng PingQing:……Fucking calabash brothers.

  And what exactly happened that led Dong MingEn to actually listen to one of Lin Qian’s suggestions? And even agreeing to it.

  Zheng PingQing put a hand on his forehead. Then he stood up and said: “Alright. You can put all the tables and chairs back to their original positions now.”


  But Fu YiFei had more to say: “The final victor still hasn’t been determined……”


  Xu Yao wrinkled his nose. “But everyone already played a match.”


  “No, no, we still have a few people who hadn’t competed yet.” Pan Qibo, who was standing at the edge of the crowd, pushed his glasses up and looked towards……Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing.

  Xu Yao clapped his hands. “Oh yeah! We need to compare the Hardworking Zheng to Ah Qian.”


  Zheng PingQing: “.……?” He didn’t know if he should first refuse to participate, or figure out what the dubious words ‘Hardworking Zheng’ meant.

  Lin Qian rejected this idea without hesitation. “A referee can’t join in.”


  Of course, Zheng PingQing didn’t want to play some stupid game either.

  Having established this, Lin Qian began commanding the boys: “Quickly put everything back.”


  Seeing Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing refuse to compete, everyone expressed their regrets, but no one dared to insist. So, in the end, they all bitterly began to move the furniture.

  If one watched this scene, they would find that the invisible barrier that used to separate these two groups have disappeared. Although they spent time with each other during their afterschool tutoring sessions, there had been no other communication outside of this. And whenever they did meet someplace, there was a distinct line that everybody abided by. Anyone would be able to tell that they were two separate groups.

  But now, it was different. Many of the furniture was too heavy for one person to move, so they all needed to work together to return everything in its place. The boys would call out to the person next to them, instead of deliberately calling for a specific person in their group. For example, Xu Yao and Zhou Daota were willingly working together to push the sofa back to its original spot.

  After great difficulty, they finally managed to put everything back. They all sat down, exhausted, and started chatting with each other.

  Dong MingEn sighed. “Boss, your house is massive.”


  Zheng PingQing had never intended on hiding his family circumstances, but he was too lazy to explain, so he just said: “Well, my dad has a lot of money.”


  Dong MingEn’s brain started churning. “Does he need another son?”


  Zheng PingQing gave him a look. “If he needs another son, he’ll be wanting the one with the highest IQ.”


  Xu Yao and Jiang TingJun’s eyes suddenly brightened.

  Zheng PingQing added: “.……He also needs to look good.”


  Xu Yao angrily spat: “Hey! you can just outright say Ah Qian’s name; you don’t need to string us along like this!”


  Lin Qian laughed, then looked at the time. Before he had even noticed, it was already the afternoon. He told everyone: “Let’s eat here tonight. We can get takeout, on me.”


  This master’s manner of speaking was so confident and natural that no one noticed anything wrong. They all simply nodded in agreement. “Ok, ok.”


  Lin Qian then skillfully took out some takeout flyers from the coffee table drawer and grabbed the house phone. He dialed the number, then ordered a dozen different dishes in one go. Finally, he told the restaurant Zheng PingQing’s home address, nodding as he did so. “Yes, No,73, yep, just press the doorbell.”


  His actions were automatic and without thought, done very smoothly. So when he hung up the phone, Lin Qian was met with strange stares and complete silence.

  Zheng PingQing put the flyers back into the coffee table drawer and asked the room: “Why’s nobody talking?”


  Xu Yao peered at Lin Qian’s face, then delicately asked: “Ah Qian, why do you know Hardworking Zheng’s house so well? You even know his address?”


  Lin Qian looked around the room, only to see everyone’s gaze on him. They all had the same questioning eyes……except Gou XinDou.

  Gou XinDou’s head was bowed, and he was muttering as he played with the cup in his hand. “What is this tea, ah, so delicious.”


  Lin Qian put an arm around Zheng PingQing’s shoulders and raised an eyebrow. “What do you guys think?”


  Then suddenly, Lou XingGuang smacked his hands together. “I know! Do you come here at night to give the Boss extra tutoring lessons?”


  Lin Qian: “.……”


  The other boys exclaimed: “Zheng PingQing really is a hard worker!”


  “Hardworking Zheng PingQing!”


  “I really applaud your efforts!”


  “People usually get hungry at night; it’s amazing that he still studies so hard.”


  Gou XinDou nodded as he sipped some tea: “Its easy to feel hungry at night.”


  Xu Yao pursed his lips, his heart crying. Ah, as expected, I’m really not Ah Qian’s best friend anymore.

  Zheng PingQing: “.……”


  Eventually, the takeout arrived. Zheng PingQing brought out bowls and cups so that everyone could split the rice and drinks. After eating, the takeaway boxes were thrown away, leaving a pile of cutlery to be washed.

  Everyone looked at the pile of dishes, and all simultaneously thought of escaping.

  “I have an idea.” Xu Yao looked at dirty plates and burped. “let Ah Qian and Hardworker Zheng wash the dishes as our tie-breaker.”


  The others nodded enthusiastically, their eyes brightening.

  “That’s a good idea.”


  “Agreed.”


  “Plus one.”


  The important thing was that they didn’t have to wash the dishes.

  “Alright.” Lin Qian walked towards the sofa and sat down. “I declare team ‘Seven Melons on a Vine’ to be the final victors.”


  “What?” Xu Yao was unsatisfied. “If we don’t have a match, no one’s allowed to win. That’s corrupt referee work.”


  Lin Qian nudged at Zheng PingQing leg with his foot. “I’m sure I won’t be as fast at washing dishes as Zheng PingQing.”


  “Yeah, he doesn’t wash dishes as fast as I do.” Zheng PingQing used his foot to nudge Lin Qian back, then stood up. “I’ll wash them.”


  The others watched, stunned, as Zheng PingQing, a once-powerful man, skillfully pick up all the dirty dishes. He then went into the kitchen, and soon, running water could be heard.

  Lou XingGuang sighed. “The Boss’ competitive heart is as strong as ever.”


  Zhou Daota nodded. “Even with washing dishes, he doesn’t fall behind.”


  Gou XinDou: “.……” Gou XinDou hadn’t eaten much, but right now, he felt like he was about to burst.

  After a while, Lin Qian got up and said: “I’ll go check up on him.”


  When Lin Qian entered the kitchen, he saw Zheng PingQing scrubbing a bowl. He wrapped his arms around Zheng PingQing’s waist from behind. “Actually, I wash the dishes pretty fast.”


  “I still wouldn’t let you wash.”


  After they got together, the household chores were basically shared equally between the two of them. But Lin Qian had never liked washing dishes, so Zheng PingQing undertook that job.

  Lin Qian rubbed his cheek against him. “Un.”


  “The takeout was too dry, ah. Is there any fruit to eat?” Suddenly, Xu Yao walked into the kitchen.

  And then witnessed Lin Qian hugging Zheng PingQing from behind.

  Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing: “.……”


  Xu Yao: “.……”


  Lin Qian calmly released Zheng PingQing and said to the rapidly blinking Xu Yao: “It’s exactly what it looks like.”


  Xu Yao: “.……”


  Xu Yao remained silent for what seemed like a century. Finally, amidst his chaotic thoughts, he said: “You……so……then, am I still your best friend?”


  Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing: “.……”


  The author has something to say:

  Xu Yao, as he rubs his hands together: I’m still Ah Qian’s best friend!!!!

  (If you didn’t know how XinDou figured it out, please go back to Chapter 19 and Chapter 25. Gou XinDou has a good pair of eyes.)

  I laughed a lot in this chapter