As it turned out, analyzing straight men required professional help.
That evening, after showering, Ye Ran sat on his bed with a serious face. Under the warm yellow light, his hair still damp, he opened a certain blue-and-white app.
[Gay Forum]
— [Let’s expose my kidney-deficient ex who sleeps early and has eight WeChat alts]
— [The bleak reality of being gay — alone and unsupported everywhere]
— [Creepy straight guys should all just die. Nothing worse than a straight dude flirting with me till I show thigh pics.]
— [Looking for a boyfriend. 189cm, 28cm, gentle and faithful. I just want to give you the taste of home.]
Ye Ran scrolled through the main page posts, nodding solemnly. Yes. This was the right place.
Taking a deep breath, he was about to post when a pop-up appeared:
[Posting requires Lv.3 membership~]
Ye Ran: “……”
Awkwardly staring at his brand-new account, he went around posting replies to random threads just to farm experience points.
Finally, after half an hour, he could post. Thinking carefully, he typed out the title with a grave expression:
[In this situation, is my friend’s friend still straight?]
[Hajso]: Here’s the situation. The poster has a friend. That friend has another friend. They’re really close — like, best friends who understand each other. But my friend is gay, while his friend is straight. Recently, though, that straight friend kissed him (for various reasons) and didn’t seem disgusted… so, to everyone with experience, is that friend still straight?
[Falling Flowers Are Heartless]: Oho, wishing you and your friend a lifetime of 99~
Ye Ran perked up and replied immediately.
[Hajso]: It’s not me, it’s my friend.
[Falling Flowers Are Heartless]: Oh, oh, my bad! Then wishing your friend and his friend a lifetime of 99~
[Hajso]: But my friend’s friend has always been straight. The kiss was circumstantial. He should still be straight, right?
[Falling Flowers Are Heartless]: LOL. Straight guys kissing dudes? Come on. Maybe he’s just pretending to be straight to bait you.
…So it’s true?
Straight guys really don’t kiss other men?
Ye Ran’s thoughts tangled. He didn’t even know what to type next.
So Shen Shi really was… bent?
Then his gaze froze—
Other replies:
Sure they can.
Of course they can — I’ve even helped out my roommate before.
No big deal. Straight guys can still get hard with another dude.
Ye Ran, stunned: …Really?
[Falling Flowers Are Heartless]: …Really??
Other replies:
Totally. We had two guys in my class who held hands all day and sat on each other’s laps between classes. Now years later they’re both dating girls, married even — happily fat.
So yeah, gay folks, stop daydreaming. Just because a straight guy kisses or holds hands with you doesn’t mean he’s bent. Some of them joke around way too far. Don’t get fooled.
Some straight guys are worse — they’ll cuddle, kiss, help each other out, even sleep with gay men. But at the end of the day, they still like women. And the only one who gets hurt is the gay guy.
Ye Ran’s pupils dilated. Ah. So that’s how it is…
[Falling Flowers Are Heartless]: Ah. So that’s how it is…
Other replies:
Never believe you can “turn” a straight guy.
Never believe a straight guy will bend for you.
Engrave these words into your bones.
Ye Ran clicked on their profiles one by one.
Forum age: 15 years.
Forum age: 10 years.
Forum age: 9 years.
Veteran gay users — who’d seen more “straight” men than meals in a lifetime.
[Hajso]: …I see.
[Falling Flowers Are Heartless]: …I see.
[Hajso]: I understand now.
[Falling Flowers Are Heartless]: I understand too.
After closing his phone, Ye Ran felt an immense sense of relief. Thinking about it this way, Shen Shi had only kissed him—he hadn’t even slept with him, bathed with him… or done anything else. The friendship between him and Shen Shi was still pure and innocent.
The worry that had been quietly gnawing at him dissolved for the most part, thanks to the enlightenment of his seniors on the forum.
Outside, lightning flashed and thunder roared.
Even with the curtains drawn, the fierce storm clouds and torrential rain outside could not be blocked out.
According to the weather report, the rain would stop tomorrow afternoon, and the club president would then be able to rent a bus to take the members back to school.
Ye Ran sprawled on the bed for a while, then got up to shower and sleep.
Too much had happened today—so much that he didn’t even want to think about it for a while.
Most importantly—right now, only he and Yu Ting knew about Shen Shi’s ambiguous orientation. He still had plenty of time to let Shen Shi slowly figure things out.
But kissing…
Yeah, maybe not again.
Ye Ran took a deep breath and made up his mind.
Once they got back to school, he would keep his distance from Shen Shi.
He absolutely could not let anyone suspect Shen Shi’s orientation.
***
At the same time, under the same stormy sky, in the next room, Yu Ting sat upright in front of his laptop, typing carefully—
[Help please, I have a question]: I have a straight male friend who’s very close to his other male friend—too close, honestly. Once when he was drunk, he even said something like he wanted to marry him. So… is my friend still straight?
1st comment: Huh? What kind of question is this? Go to “Unusual Cases” forum for that.
2nd comment: Forget it, I’ll just warn you kindly—straight men are full of tricks, don’t get fooled, OP.
Yu Ting clicked his tongue. It’s my friend, he muttered.
What business is it of theirs?
He was a manly, iron-boned, true-blooded guy.
3rd comment: Okay okay, fine, it’s “your friend.”
4th comment: He’s already talking about marriage and you’re still asking if he’s straight? You sure you’re not humblebragging?
A vein bulged on Yu Ting’s forehead. It’s. My. Friend!
5th comment: LOL, still straight? Bro’s already bent like a mosquito coil, okay.
Yu Ting began to doubt whether he’d come to the wrong place. He took a deep breath, ready to close the forum—when suddenly, he saw a neatly written reply:
[Falling Flowers Are Heartless]: Honestly, straight guys can act in really confusing ways. Don’t rush to any conclusions.
[Falling Flowers Are Heartless]: I have a friend who even kissed his “straight” friend. In the end, that guy was still straight. My friend was really conflicted, but he’s over it now. After all, a straight man can never truly be bent, and he’ll never change for someone. Please carve this truth into your bones.
8th comment: Wait, seriously?
25th comment: Please, tell us your story in detail.
30th comment: There are actually real gays in “Unusual Cases”?
…
Yu Ting stared at [Falling Flowers Are Heartless]’s post, stunned. What had happened to that guy was even more absurd than what was happening to him. They even kissed, and he was still straight?
What was wrong with straight men these days? Were they all like Shen Shi?
Disgusting.
…Wait. Could Shen Shi’s talk about “getting married” have just been drunken nonsense too?
At that thought, Yu Ting fell silent and closed the tab.
Compared to kissing, drunken rambling suddenly seemed a lot more acceptable.
Confirming that Shen Shi was still straight—just a total scumbag—Yu Ting couldn’t sit still. As a friend, he couldn’t just watch Shen Shi spiral like this. His conscience told him he had to act.
Ye Ran was such a sweet, well-behaved little gay; he absolutely couldn’t be fooled into thinking a straight man could turn for him.
He reopened the forum, took a screenshot of [Falling Flowers Are Heartless]’s words, and prepared to confront Ye Ran face-to-face.
At the critical moment, if he quoted that warning, maybe he could still save the situation.
In the end, his conscience triumphed over friendship.
Yu Ting’s eyes filled with tears.
I’m such a morally upright man.
If straight men’s reputations were going to be redeemed, he would be the one to do it!
After straightening his clothes and composing himself, Yu Ting summoned the air of an academic researcher, and dramatically pulled open his door—
The next second, in the dimly lit hallway, a figure slowly lifted his head.
Shen Shi stood there in black loungewear, his features shifting in and out of shadow under the faint light. Leaning lazily against the wall, he raised his eyelids slightly and looked at Yu Ting with calm indifference.
Yu Ting: “…”
F*ck. A ghost.
Expressionless, he took a step back and tried to slam the door shut—but a pale, slender hand caught it firmly.
Shen Shi looked down at him, cool and distant. “I need to talk to you. Come with me.”
Yu Ting refused flatly: “Absolutely not—”
“WeChat,” Shen Shi said. “I transferred you the money.”
Still blocking the door, Yu Ting took out his phone. When he saw how many zeros were in the transfer, he froze for two seconds, then instantly broke into a radiant smile.
“Bro, let’s go.”
“Why all the drama between brothers? Hurts the bond, you know?” he said enthusiastically. “I was being immature earlier, don’t hold it against me, yeah?”
Shen Shi turned and led him into his room.
Shen Shi’s room was impeccably tidy.
The bedside lamp glowed with a warm amber hue. A soft-looking chair near the bed even had a blanket neatly draped over it. Yu Ting instinctively went to sit down, but Shen Shi frowned and stopped him. “Not there.”
Yu Ting: “?”
The h*ll, too much.
Swallowing his irritation, he moved toward the bed, only for Shen Shi to stop him again. “Sit on the stool.”
Following his gaze, Yu Ting spotted a tiny knee-high stool at the foot of the bed, the kind you’d see in a kindergarten.
Yu Ting: “……”
For the sake of the money, he endured it.
He sat down obediently, though his mind was spinning in circles. The last time Shen Shi had bribed him with money, it was to “celebrate his birthday early.” This time, Shen Shi had paid him even more… that could only mean trouble.
Luckily, Shen Shi didn’t ask what he had been planning to do just now. Otherwise, he really might not have been able to—
Beep beep.
The water dispenser made a sound.
Shen Shi poured two cups of water, walked back to the bed, and handed one of the cups, cold, to him.
Yu Ting reached out to take it, but just as his fingers brushed the paper cup, Shen Shi asked casually, “Where were you going just now?”
He froze instantly, brain running at high speed.
Shen Shi’s grip on the cup was strong, so strong that Yu Ting couldn’t even take it from him. The gaze falling on him was calm and dark, emotionless but that was exactly what made Shen Shi so terrifying.
Yu Ting felt as if every thought in his head had been seen through. After a pause, he decided to tell the truth: “I was going to find Ye Ran.”
“Mm,” Shen Shi nodded slightly, as if he already knew, then leaned against the wall and continued in an indifferent tone, “What for?”
Yu Ting sighed. “If you didn’t already know why, would you have been waiting for me outside the door?”
After knowing Shen Shi for so many years, Yu Ting didn’t believe for a second that he couldn’t see through his intentions. His head ached, and his heart sank. Shen Shi’s habit of cutting off every unexpected move at the root was making him feel deeply uneasy.
“Shen Shi,” he said seriously, “what exactly do you feel about Ye Ran?”
This was troublesome… he’d never seen Shen Shi this possessive over a friend before. Sure enough, he’d have to remind Ye Ran later…
“I like him.”
The quiet voice interrupted his thoughts. Shen Shi’s tone was light, almost flat, but to Yu Ting it exploded in his ear like a bolt of thunder.
“You—you—what did you—”
Unhurriedly, as if afraid Yu Ting hadn’t heard him clearly, Shen Shi repeated, “I said, I like Ye Ran.”
Yu Ting short-circuited. His first reaction was to hunch his shoulders and cross his arms, like a pure maiden about to have her innocence ruined, scrambling backward until he hit the wall, eyes wide with horror.
“Holy sh*t! Holy sh*t!”
He was beyond words now—like a werewolf transforming under a full moon, trembling as he howled, “Holy sh*t! I knew you were a freak—get the h*ll away from me!”
Shen Shi: “…”
“Clicking his tongue,” Shen Shi gave him a look that said he was beyond help. “Stop acting insane.”
Yu Ting snapped, “D*mn it! You’ve been hiding as a gay man around me for years, and I can’t even scream a little?!”
Expressionless, Shen Shi picked up his phone. “Transferred you the money. Shut up.”
Yu Ting: “Even if you—oh, sure thing, bro.”
When it came to money, whether Shen Shi was straight or not clearly didn’t matter anymore.
Still dazed, Yu Ting drifted back onto the little stool and sat down blankly. After spacing out for a few seconds, something occurred to him. “Wait a second. You didn’t call me over just to help you chase him, did you?”
“That won’t work, man, I don’t have any dating experience either. You’re asking the wrong person.”
Shen Shi didn’t even look up. “It’s not that.”
Yu Ting secretly smirked. “Ha, knew it. Guess I’m still more experienced than you in love.”
Finally glancing at him, Shen Shi added patiently, “I meant, I’m not so desperate that I’d come to you.”
Yu Ting: “…”
D*mn. Gay guys really have sharp tongues.
He watched Shen Shi pull out his phone, eyelids half lowered in lazy focus, typing something casually. The warm amber light of the lamp cast shadows over the elegant lines of his face, outlining his cool, handsome features.
Those long, narrow black eyes gleamed faintly, and even without emotion, they were enough to make people lose focus.
…With a face like that, couldn’t he just seduce the guy directly?
Yu Ting was baffled.
Soon, the silence was broken by Shen Shi’s voice, slow and mild. He handed the phone over. “Do me a favor. Send this.”
“?”
That tone was way too polite, like a weasel bringing New Year’s greetings to a chicken.
Yu Ting cautiously took the phone. When he saw the long paragraph on the screen, he froze for several seconds. Then his eyelid started twitching wildly. He shot up from the stool like a spring.
“H*ll no!” he said righteously. “I can’t do this!”
Shen Shi sat at the edge of the bed, watching him unhurriedly. His pupils were so dark they seemed almost pure black, and under the lamplight, they looked cold and sharp.
“You can.”
Outside, the wind and rain grew louder, slapping hard against the windows in a constant clatter.
Yu Ting swallowed hard as Shen Shi continued evenly, “I need a legitimate identity.”
***
10:30 p.m.
Ye Ran hadn’t taken a nap that afternoon, so he was already drowsy early on.
Outside, the rain and thunder came in waves, the soft pattering of rain lulling him toward sleep.
When his phone suddenly vibrated violently, Ye Ran groggily sat up, his thoughts thick and sluggish.
Reaching for his phone, he saw that Little Fatty had sent him a long string of messages on WeChat.
Too sleepy to open his eyes fully, Ye Ran hugged his blanket, yawned, and slowly tapped into the chat. He opened the several screenshots Little Fatty had sent—four or five in total.
[“City’s Heartthrob orientation confirmed: male. Is there really anyone who doesn’t know?”]
Boom—
A thunderclap roared outside, and lightning slashed violently across the sky.
Ye Ran’s mind went blank for an instant, and cold sweat broke out all over his body.
He sat upright immediately, heart pounding, and scanned through the replies in the screenshots—
[“City’s Heartthrob orientation confirmed: male. Is there really anyone who doesn’t know?”]
1L: ??? OP, can you talk with evidence? Are you crazy, spreading rumors in the middle of the night?
2L: LOL. First there was that rumor that Shen Shi’s nationality isn’t Chinese, and now this?
3L: Midnight gossip, I’m here for it. Waiting for updates.
OP: I’m absolutely sure. I have a friend who works at the Swan Hotel as a waiter. Apparently, the Astronomy Club was having a party there one night, playing Truth or Dare. Someone asked Shen Shi whether he’s into men or women. Shen Shi clearly said “men.” My friend heard it with his own ears. Don’t believe me? Go ask the Astronomy Club members.
…
21L: D*mn, I just asked my friend from the Astronomy Club. Shen Shi was there that night. When that question came up, he didn’t say whether he liked men or women, but he did stay silent.
25L: Some people here really need to stop defending Shen Shi, okay? You really believe a straight guy would avoid talking about his sexuality?
30L: This clears up so much. No wonder the Finance Department’s beauty confessed to him and got rejected.
44L: Are you kidding me? Are all the handsome guys gay these days?
50L: Hard to believe. Shen Shi’s actually gay… My classmates from another school already heard, apparently their forum’s talking about it too.
80L: Doesn’t Shen Shi have admin privileges on the campus forum? How is this post still up?
99L: Guess he’s guilty and doesn’t dare delete it.
…
There were seven or eight screenshots in total, full of gossip, mockery, and jeering comments.
A layer of cold sweat formed on Ye Ran’s palms. His mind went blank for a second, and purely out of muscle memory, he kept scrolling down, reading those ambiguous remarks one by one.
Finally, after reading through hundreds of replies word by word, messages from Little Fatty came in:
– Ye Ran, what do we do?!
– Everyone’s saying our dorm is a gay nest now!
The next moment, Little Fatty sent a despairing voice message—
“They’re saying our 211 dorm only has the door number that’s straight—dammit, I’m straight too!”
…
Ye Ran shut his phone, immediately jumped out of bed, even putting his slippers on the wrong feet, and ran straight to Shen Shi’s room.
The hallway was silent and dim.
But Ye Ran felt as if he could hear faint, invisible sounds—noisy, mocking, full of malicious glee.
His pupils shrank; countless thoughts flashed through his mind as he knocked on Shen Shi’s door. Barely two seconds later, the door opened.
Warm orange light spilled out from the room, wrapping around him.
Shen Shi stood behind the door, looking down at him. His hair was slightly messy, as if he’d just woken up. The deep black of his phoenix eyes reflected Ye Ran’s panicked expression.
“Ye Ran?”
Ye Ran opened his mouth to speak—but his eyes fell on the phone in Shen Shi’s hand. The screen clearly displayed the campus forum’s blue homepage, the top trending post of the night:
[City’s Heartthrob orientation confirmed: male. Is there really anyone who doesn’t know?]
His words stuck in his throat.
After a long moment, Ye Ran slowly lifted his gaze to Shen Shi’s calm face. His mind was blank. His eyes reddened slightly as he stared at him in confusion, his voice trembling:
“…What do we do?”
He pressed his lips together, swallowing the heat in his throat. “I… I thought everyone would keep it secret.”
He had tried so hard to help Shen Shi “get back on track,” and now it had all fallen apart.
Now the whole school knew Shen Shi was gay.
No one would believe Shen Shi was still straight—
Except him.
For a few seconds, silence hung between them. Ye Ran realized how pitiful he must look. He lowered his head, blinking back the moisture in his eyes, and quickly tried to think of a solution.
“Everyone’s talking about it right now… I—maybe I can use my account to clear things up for you? Say you’re not actually gay, it’s just because of me—”
He stumbled over his words, even mixing up the order, when Shen Shi suddenly interrupted softly: “Ye Ran.”
Ye Ran looked up at the sound, then felt a light kiss brush his lips.
Shen Shi leaned toward him, the backlight blurring the edges of his features. Only his eyes remained clear, carrying the faintest hint of a smile.
“Straight men don’t kiss other men.”
Ye Ran’s mind went completely blank. The touch on his lips was gentle—so gentle it felt like a dragonfly skimming the surface of water, tender enough to give him the illusion of being soothed.
Shen Shi straightened up again, his voice low and calm.
“The post on the forum—I told someone to post it. I’m very sure. I’m gay.”
