When Ye Ran woke, the room was utterly still.
The curtains were half-drawn; beyond them he could see the dark green fir trees on the back mountain. The misty rain wove like threads through the forest — rain like fog, fog like rain, endlessly twining. In the deep gray-blue sky, layers of dark clouds drifted around the steep peaks.
A faint drizzle veiled the whole world, shutting out every disturbance from beyond.
The light was dim; the air conditioner hummed gently, blowing warm air.
Ye Ran closed his eyes again, heavy with exhaustion. He’d gone to bed far too late — almost three in the morning.
Another flash of light fell across his face. He lifted his eyelids — the phone beside his pillow was lighting up over and over, new messages flooding the screen. In just one night, there were already 99+ unread messages.
He picked it up and unlocked it.
— [It’s nine-thirty! Nine-thirty! My dear friends, are you all awake?]
— [Been up for ages. Wang Jie and the others drank too much last night, probably still out cold.]
— [D*mn, big news — when I went to the cafeteria this morning, I saw Lin Ziqian and Liang Feng.]
— [Those two again? What kind of stunt are they pulling this time?]
— [No, listen! They were carrying suitcases, said they were going to hang out by themselves over at the villa complex across the way. My guess? They were trying to sneak down the mountain, but with all this rain the last couple days, they couldn’t go.]
— [Better without them, honestly. They pissed me off so bad last night — ruined the whole mood. Forget it, not gonna talk about it.]
— [I saw them too. Bundled up tight, but my eagle eyes caught the bruises on their hands. Looked pretty bad — definitely from fighting.]
— [Dog fight, obviously… cough, serves them right. Cheating biss.]
Ye Ran shut off the phone.
Just seeing the names Lin Ziqian and Liang Feng now made his stomach turn.
He rolled over and sat up in bed. His head, foggy from sleep, slowly cleared.
Everything from last night came rushing back. After just one night’s distance, the anger and confusion had dulled somewhat. He suddenly froze mid-motion, the drowsy flush around his eyes spreading to his ears, which grew hot. A few seconds later, he groaned and thumped the bed with his fist.
…He’d kissed Shen Shi last night.
Twice.
Ye Ran stared blankly into space. Drinking was the root of all disasters.
He must’ve lost his mind.
What now? How was he supposed to face Shen Shi again?
…No, wait — the real issue was that Shen Shi now thought he was gay.
A perfectly straight man….
Ye Ran pressed his palm to his forehead in frustration.
Insisting he was gay… what a mess.
The phone screen flashed again.
Ye Ran picked it up and saw several messages from Yu Ting, sent around midnight.
Yu Ting: [Ye Ran, how did the talk go?]
Half an hour later, Yu Ting’s tone had completely changed.
Yu Ting: [Ye Ran, I thought about it again. You really shouldn’t have to deal with this! Just stay away from Shen Shi!]
Ten minutes after that, clearly tossing and turning in bed—
Yu Ting: [Ye Ran, I’m serious, you should transfer dorms right away.]
Yu Ting: [Sharing link — A Shanghai Doctor’s Account: The Harm Caused by People with Psychopathic Tendencies to Those Around Them. Forward to your loved ones now!]
Ye Ran: “……”
Ye Ran: “…………”
He pressed his lips together, a bit helpless.
Did Yu Ting misunderstand something about him? Yes, he was gay — but definitely not psychopathic, and he absolutely planned to switch dorms and slowly distance himself from Shen Shi.
He thought it over, then got out of bed.
Shen Shi’s room was right next door.
A whole night had passed — he should be sober by now. Ye Ran decided he had to ask him face to face.
After freshening up, he grasped the doorknob, took a deep breath, and stepped out into the hall.
The corridor was empty and brightly lit.
A thick carpet muffled his footsteps almost completely.
He stopped before Shen Shi’s door, silently rehearsing what to say. His shoes pressed into the soft carpet again and again as he paced, anxiety winding tighter. After a long pause, he looked up at the wooden door, clenched his fists, and knocked.
Knock, knock, knock.
While waiting for Shen Shi to answer, he mentally reviewed his lines again.
This time, he had to be straightforward. As soon as he saw Shen Shi, he’d ask whether he still thought he was gay. No matter what the answer, he’d stay calm, say “mm,” and leave—
Click.
The door opened.
A wave of warm steam rolled out.
Ye Ran looked up. Shen Shi had apparently just showered; his hair was half damp, his features sharp and cool. Standing in shadow, he looked slightly tired, as if he hadn’t slept much. His gaze dropped down to meet Ye Ran’s.
All the courage Ye Ran had mustered instantly evaporated. He stared at the bruise on Shen Shi’s jaw for a few seconds before catching up to what he was seeing. “Your face…”
He immediately recalled the chat group’s earlier discussion — something about Lin Ziqian and Liang Feng fighting.
“It’s not that,” Shen Shi said, as if reading his thoughts. “Just bumped it by accident.”
How careless did you have to be to bump your jaw like that?
But Shen Shi didn’t seem to think anything was odd about his explanation. He asked instead, “Do you want to come in?”
He stepped aside to make room.
Ye Ran hesitated.
After a few seconds, he shook his head. “No, I just wanted to ask you something.”
“Last night…” He forgot the words he’d prepared, stumbled a little, then managed, “What you said — did you mean it?”
“I did,” Shen Shi replied.
He looked down slightly, gaze fixed on Ye Ran’s face, tone calm. “I’m gay—”
“I know!” Ye Ran blurted out, panicked, cutting him off mid-sentence.
Shen Shi’s voice wasn’t loud, but anyone paying attention would’ve heard.
Ye Ran clenched his fists, lifted his head, and met those deep, dark eyes looking steadily back at him. “I’m going back now,” he said.
Before Shen Shi could respond, Ye Ran turned and left. He was so nervous that he tripped on the edge of the carpet by the doorway, nearly stumbling headfirst into his room.
Shen Shi straightened up immediately— Just in time to face the door slamming shut.
He stood there for a few seconds, and a faint smile crossed his eyes.
The next moment, the door next to Ye Ran’s creaked open.
“Creak.”
Shen Shi paused mid-step and turned toward the sound.
Yu Ting’s face peeked out from the small crack in the door—half hidden, half visible—sneaky and secretive, yet the look in his eyes could only be described as one of deep grief and indignation. “…D*mn it. Pervert.”
Ye Ran, did you even read the WeChat article I sent you!
Bang—
In response, Shen Shi calmly and unhurriedly shut the door.
Yu Ting: “…”
D*mn it!
Shen Shi!
***
Everyone had stayed up playing until three or four in the morning. Combined with the steady rain shrouding Lianwu Mountain in a dim gloom, time seemed to move sluggishly that day, and the group spent most of it catching up on sleep.
By seven in the evening, the villas were glowing with warm lights—soft amber lanterns dotting the misty mountainside.
Ye Ran sat upright on his bed, typing on Qiandu as seriously as if he were writing a graduate thesis: “How to tell if you are gay.”
After a few moments of blinking, the screen filled with search results.
He scrolled a bit and saw one titled “Sexual Orientation Assessment (Male Version).”
He clicked it immediately.
The villa’s Wi-Fi was fast—within seconds, a bright blue website popped up. But before Ye Ran could take a closer look, a chat window began to beep rapidly: “di di di.”
[Dr. Wang, Psychiatrist at Pianshi City No.1 People’s Hospital]: Hello dear, are you here to assess your sexual orientation?
Ye Ran: “?”
He paused, then typed: [It’s for a friend.]
[Dr. Wang]: Okay~ is your friend male or female?
Ye Ran replied seriously: [Male.]
[Dr. Wang]: The questionnaire has 20 questions in total. Would you like to pay with WeChat or Alipay?
Ye Ran exhaled in relief—if it cost money, it must be legitimate.
[WeChat.]
A few seconds later, Ye Ran: [Doctor, please hurry. My friend’s situation is special—it’s urgent.]
[Dr. Wang, Psychiatrist at Pianshi City No.1 People’s Hospital]: Got it. Cloud link: http:dcj~, password L666.
…
The villa’s Wi-Fi decided to act up right at the critical moment.
Ye Ran put the tablet on the bed and waited for it to download slowly. Meanwhile, he pulled out his flat glasses from his backpack, the kind with blue-light protection that he only wore when drawing.
After putting them on, he tidied his hair a little. The wide frames covered his ears and part of his cheeks. That way, even if things got awkward again… maybe it wouldn’t be as obvious.
He took a deep breath, looked at his reflection—looking every bit the scholarly type—and turned to grab the tablet, which had finally finished downloading.
The test had 20 questions—concise and straight to the point.
Ye Ran went through it roughly once, confirmed there were no issues, then took the tablet and went to find Shen Shi.
Knock, knock, knock.
He rapped on the neighboring door.
The door opened.
Warm amber light spilled from inside. Shen Shi stood behind the door, his tall figure outlined by the glow. His gaze slid over Ye Ran’s serious face and the tablet in his hand. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he said, “Come in.”
Shen Shi’s bedroom was identical in layout to Ye Ran’s, a floor-to-ceiling panoramic window, through which one could see misty mountain rain drifting outside. The back mountain at dusk was quiet and tranquil, tall trees casting faint shadows, creating an atmosphere far removed from the mundane world.
Ye Ran kept his gaze straight ahead and sat down on the sofa by the bed. “This is a test I found. Do it.”
Shen Shi, by the water dispenser, filled a cup. “A test?”
“Mm,” Ye Ran said. “A sexual orientation test.”
The sound of running water filled the silence.
The room was so quiet Ye Ran could hear Shen Shi’s calm, unhurried footsteps. The man came up behind him, his shadow falling over him like night. He set the glass down on the table in front of Ye Ran.
A soft clink.
Ye Ran suddenly felt guilty for no reason.
Shen Shi took the tablet from his hands, sat on the bed, and flipped through a few pages.
The lamp on the nightstand cast a soft, hazy light.
Ye Ran silently counted the seconds in his head. A few moments later, Shen Shi—still swiping the tablet—spoke in an even tone, as though just asking casually:
“‘I can accept and seek out same-sex outlets/urges’—how do I answer that one?”
He lifted his eyes slightly; the lamplight traced his features in a play of light and shadow, his pupils deep and dark. “What would you choose?”
Ye Ran’s breath caught. He pushed his glasses up. “…Uh, well, there are five options below—‘very inconsistent,’ ‘inconsistent,’ ‘unsure,’ ‘consistent,’ and ‘very consistent.’ You pick whichever fits you best.”
“Mm.” Shen Shi seemed not to have heard him properly and continued, “What about you? What did you pick?”
Ye Ran started to fidget.
When he had taken the test earlier, none of these questions had fazed him. Some even seemed fairly standard. But hearing Shen Shi read them out loud now—it suddenly felt completely different.
“…I picked ‘consistent,’” he said.
Shen Shi made a small sound of acknowledgment. The white stylus spun once between his fingers before he selected an option.
Silence settled again.
Ye Ran’s tense body finally began to relax. Maybe that was the end of it.
But then Shen Shi spoke again, in the same even tone: “‘Did you have same-sex crushes during adolescence?’”
Ye Ran: “…”
A flicker of panic crossed his mind. Surely he wasn’t going to go through all 18 remaining questions like this, right?
Unfortunately, that fear proved entirely justified. Shen Shi lifted his gaze slightly, eyes calm as they met Ye Ran’s. He waited. “Hm? Did you?”
Ye Ran: “…Probably.”
Shen Shi nodded, his voice steady as ever. “Senior… or junior?”
Ye Ran swallowed hard. “…Was that one of the questions?”
Shen Shi paused. The stylus twirled once in his hand, and he checked a box. “No. Can’t say?”
…Of course he couldn’t say it!
Ye Ran exhaled in relief, as though he’d just escaped a disaster.
He had never fantasized about any man in real life. The only reason he’d confirmed that he might be gay was because, during puberty, he sometimes had wet dreams and the figure in those dreams had been a faceless man.
“‘Have you ever seen a same-sex body and felt desire?’” Shen Shi spoke again, looking at him. “This one you can say, right?”
Ye Ran: “…”
Terrible miscalculation, he should’ve worn a hood for this.
His ears burned scarlet. With his glasses on, he looked all the more mild and gentle, yet now his lips were tightly pressed, his narrow phoenix eyes lowered, face solemn. “You should think for yourself.”
Shen Shi said, “I need a reference.”
He lowered his gaze back to the tablet, voice even and unhurried. “After all, my situation’s… special.”
Ye Ran was completely speechless. The more he thought about how Shen Shi was taking this test because of him, the more guilty he felt.
Maybe Shen Shi really was confused.
“…Not sure,” he said awkwardly.
Shen Shi narrowed his eyes slightly. “Not sure? Does that mean you’ve seen it and felt nothing, or never seen it?”
Ye Ran: “…Seen it, but felt nothing.”
In high school swim class, his heart had always been as calm as still water.
Shen Shi: “Mm. Next question. ‘Have you ever dated someone of the same sex and engaged in physical contact?’”
Ye Ran: “…Strongly disagree.”
Shen Shi: “‘Do you currently have a sexual fantasy about someone and wish to engage intimately with them?’”
Ye Ran: “…Strongly disagree.”
Shen Shi: “‘The object of your sexual fantasy exists in real life, and you frequently imagine being intimate with them.’”
Ye Ran: “…Strongly disagree.”
Shen Shi: “‘You believe same-sex relationships are less lasting than heterosexual ones.’”
Ye Ran: “…Unsure.”
…
…
The twenty questions flew by. Below the survey was an analysis template — once the answers were uploaded, the result would be ready in less than a minute.
When Shen Shi finished, Ye Ran’s rigid body finally relaxed. He stared out at the torrential rain beyond the window, thinking back over the whole scene, his heart still not calm.
The screen showed “Analyzing…” Ye Ran pushed up his glasses, eyes fixed unblinkingly on the tablet in Shen Shi’s hands.
Shen Shi’s gaze, meanwhile, drifted lazily over Ye Ran’s features, pausing a little too long on his lips before looking away naturally.
A moment later, Ye Ran heard his voice — unhurried, with a trace of amusement.
“The results are out.”
“Shen Shi, your homosexuality index is only 30%.”
Finally, everything was settled.
Ye Ran’s anxiety of the past two days eased at once.
So Shen Shi was still straight.
Thank goodness.
He was walking on the right path of life — hadn’t deviated after all.
But Shen Shi didn’t look the least bit surprised.
“Ye Ran,” he said calmly, lifting his eyes to meet Ye Ran’s bewildered gaze. “The answers on this questionnaire are yours.”
He lowered his head, tapped the screen with the stylus — and a second report appeared.
— Homosexuality index: 70%.
Shen Shi said, “This one’s mine.”
Ye Ran: “?”
Ye Ran: “…?”
Shen Shi’s tone remained mild. “According to the results, you’re not gay — I am.”
Ye Ran: “…”
…Cr*p.
He swallowed hard.
Then blinked slowly in belated realization.
…He’d been tricked.
***
Outside, the rain poured even harder. Night had fallen over Lianwu Mountain, the peaks half-shrouded in mist.
The rain fell in fine, endless threads, drumming against the floor-to-ceiling windows and leaving streaks of water.
The room was utterly still, the only sound was the faint hum of the air conditioner’s oscillating fan.
After a long time, Ye Ran finally raised his hand and took the tablet back from Shen Shi.
He looked down at that glaring 30%, filled with regret. “…This can’t be accurate.”
Shen Shi glanced at him and gave a quiet “mm.”
Ye Ran drooped for a while, then rallied. He opened Qiandu again and typed into the search bar: “How to test if you’re gay.” His lips pressed into a thin line, his expression extremely tense.
This time, he scrutinized every search result carefully, scrolling slowly until he found one titled “Gender Encyclopedia.”
It looked legitimate.
He hesitated, then clicked in. The layout was clean, formatted like a formal paper, neatly divided into sections, each with long paragraphs of analysis.
Ye Ran breathed a sigh of relief.
This one should be fine.
He skipped past the section about homosexuality and mental health, scrolling straight to the end — to the part labeled “How to Verify Your Sexual Orientation.” He read it seriously.
- Engage in light flirting with someone of the same sex to determine if you feel anything.
…
2. Hold hands or kiss someone of the same sex to determine if you feel anything.
…
3. Through…
Before he could even read number three, a shadow suddenly fell over him.
He froze and looked up.
At some point, Shen Shi had appeared beside him, leaning slightly forward, his breath surrounding Ye Ran like a tide.
…Wait.
Ye Ran’s eyelid twitched. He recalled the line he’d just read, and instinctively tried to shut the tablet — only to realize he was too late. He froze mid-motion, stiff as a statue.
The tablet’s glow fell across Shen Shi’s face. In the half-light, his expression was calm and unreadable; his dark, narrow phoenix eyes betrayed no emotion. He slightly lowered his head, watching Ye Ran quietly.
“Flirting?”
“Holding hands, kissing?”
The triple questions froze Ye Ran. He couldn’t speak, only moved his lips slightly in the tense, inexplicably frozen atmosphere.
The next moment, Shen Shi got up and walked to the edge of the bed, sitting down. He gave a short, simple prompt: “Mm, come on.”
