How nice can he be?

I know this guy in college when I differed my studies by one semester and join his batch halfway through the degree. I've never noticed his existence or anyone else in class as I was too busy dealing with my mental health and internal turmoil when I'm in public.

But 1 semester before we go for internship I became close to one of his friend and we went out for sushi with the other classmates. That was the first time I noticed him and I instantly fell for him. He has many female friends and is generally known as kind and helpful. Once, he stayed with me at the lab and helped me with simulation from morning till evening. He walked 20 minutes from his block just to return my calculator when he could just give it back later.

My crush on him persist for 2 years now. We were assigned for a 2 semesters long project together. He's the group leader but he kept saying I'm the actual leader and always seeks confirmation from me. He accompanies me to work on the project or to study late at night everytime I ask him to. He would sometimes initiate to study together as well but rarely.

We're super talkative with each other when there's only the two of us but he grows cold and rigid with me when his friends are around. We went to eat together once and shared a lot about each other. I noticed the compass theory where he would direct his body towards me in class but I'm not sure if it's just a coincidence. He also kept accidently brushing my legs with his and his hands with mine when we're discussing. He's a gentleman through and through and would help me carry my stuff even without me asking.

I notice how he looks at me with smiling eyes everytime we converse. Despite all these shared moments and how comfortable we've became, I can't help but be reminded at how I'm the outsider because he's not as close to me as he is with his other female classmates whom he has known for almost 5 years now. They always call each other and even video call each other where him and I barely text each other. He never reply my texts that are not work related but has no problem sending memes to his female friends. Sometimes I feel like he likes me too but then when I see how he interact with other girls I'm being reminded that that's just how he is, a very nice and helpful guy.

P/s: his close guy friend asked me if there's anything going on between us because we've been spending too much time together.