The media lab was quieter than usual. Most students had rushed out after the morning shoot, but Xiao Shuai lingered behind, cleaning up loose cables and sorting shared equipment. He liked the silence when it wasn't heavy.
But today... it was.
Footsteps approached from behind, too slow to be random.
He didn't turn.
"You still wear that same cologne."
Meng Tao.
Xiao Shuai's jaw clenched. "I didn't know you were a fan of stalking people's scent."
"I'm just observant," Meng Tao said lightly. "Besides, you always smelled like coffee and trouble. Some things don't change."
Shuai turned around, brows raised. "But some things do. Like me not falling for your lines anymore."
Meng Tao stepped closer, eyes scanning his face. "You really aren't going to talk to me? After everything?"
"There's nothing left to talk about."
"You don't believe in second chances?"
"I don't believe in people who treat love like an audition."
Meng Tao's smile twitched. "You're different now."
"Yeah. I've got better boundaries."
Shuai slung his bag over his shoulder and stepped around him. But Meng Tao moved, just slightly, and blocked his path one hand braced against the table.
"You didn't even ask why I came back," he said, softer now.
"I figured it out." Shuai met his eyes, calm but sharp. "You're not here for the program. You're here to see if I'm still the same idiot who once forgave you too quickly."
"And?" Meng Tao whispered.
"I'm not."
For a moment, there was silence.
Then footsteps echoed from the hallway—and just like that, Guo Cheng Yu walked in, earbuds dangling from his shirt, a half-finished drink in hand.
His eyes swept the room, zeroing in on the scene.
"Something wrong?" he asked, voice too casual.
Shuai exhaled, relieved and a little shaken. "No. I was just leaving."
Cheng Yu's gaze didn't move from Meng Tao. "Good."
Meng Tao gave a tight smile, stepping back. "Guess I'll see you around then."
"I hope not," Shuai muttered, brushing past.
Cheng Yu followed without hesitation.
Outside the building, neither of them said anything for a while. They just walked side by side, wind brushing gently past them.
Cheng Yu bit the inside of his cheek. "Did he say anything?"
Shuai paused at the steps near the dorms, then looked at him. "He said I smelled the same."
Cheng Yu blinked. "That's weirdly intimate."
"I know."
"And gross."
"Also true."
Cheng Yu's tone dropped. "If he comes near you again—"
"You'll what? Beat him up?" Shuai teased, bumping his shoulder lightly.
Cheng Yu didn't smile. "No. But I'll make sure he never thinks you're alone."
That made Shuai pause.
He didn't respond right away. But then he reached for Cheng Yu's sleeve, tugged it lightly. "Thanks. But I wasn't alone. Not this time."
Cheng Yu's chest loosened. He nodded once, heart thrumming loud in his ears.
Not this time.
And never again.