Are All You Straight Guys Like This Chapter 32

While scrolling videos in the waiting area, Little Fatty looked up and saw Ye Ran walking over alone.

“Ye Ran! I’m here!”

Ye Ran turned toward the voice, letting go of the hand rubbing the back of his neck and straightening unnaturally.

“Where’s Shen Shi?” Little Fatty asked, glancing behind him. “Didn’t he come with you?”

“Mm,” Ye Ran replied. “He’s going back to catch up on sleep.”

Without mentioning Shen Shi further, he changed the topic:

“What about Brother Shu?”

“He went for a foot bath,” Little Fatty said. “Come on, I already checked, massage drinks and snacks are free, we have a full-access pass, so we can go straight to a private room.”

Following him, Ye Ran passed through an exotic corridor and arrived at the Thai massage area.

The entrance was ornate and golden; inside, it was like stepping into another world.

Banana trees, high wooden huts, dim lighting. Walls painted with beaches, oceans, and domed temples.

Rows of massage chairs filled the hall, separated for male and female clients. Children ran around, eating and watching TV.

At the door, attendants checked their tickets and guided Ye Ran and Little Fatty to a private double room. The air conditioning was slightly low; two massage beds were placed side by side, with a fruit platter and menu at the head.

“We’re arranging your therapists now. Do you have any preferences?”

Little Fatty:

“Just normal is fine.”

Thinking of something, he cleared his throat, glanced at the dazed Ye Ran, and whispered to the attendant: “No hot guys or girls—just a regular therapist.”

The attendant’s smile didn’t change, but his gaze softened instantly.

“Understood, sir.”

Little Fatty felt bitter inside, what would he understand!

But thinking of Brother Shu’s endless warnings before leaving, he felt this little suffering was nothing; maintaining dorm harmony was everyone’s responsibility.

After the attendant left, he grabbed the menu from the bedside and asked Ye Ran:

“Ye Ran, what would you like to drink?”

The menu had Thai milk tea, various fruit juices, and Thai dishes like mango sticky rice and marinated crab.

After a while of silence, Little Fatty looked up and saw Ye Ran staring blankly, propping himself on the bed frame, lost in thought as if still immersed in something.

Little Fatty waved in front of his face:

“Ye Ran? Ye Ran?”

Ye Ran snapped out of it and looked at him slowly:

“…Hm? What’s up?”

“What do you want to drink?” Little Fatty handed him the menu.

Ye Ran took it:

“Mango juice is fine.”

“OK.”

He pressed the button on the menu. Soon, when the two therapists arrived, they also brought mango juice and Thai milk tea.

The massage therapists were two middle-aged men with simple, honest appearances. They greeted him and started preparing the oils.

Ye Ran discussed briefly with his therapist and chose not to remove his bathrobe. The therapist looked surprised:

“Sir, if you don’t apply oil, the effect might not be very good.”

Ye Ran awkwardly shook his head, resolute.

Seeing this, the therapist said: “Alright, then we’ll just do the basic circulation massage.”

Ye Ran exhaled slightly and, glancing at Little Fatty who had already removed his top and was lying comfortably on the bed, carefully lay down as well.

The lighting was dim; he pressed his lips together, noticing that the bathrobe had opened a little during the process.

His hair had grown long, the ends tied at the nape of his neck, which the therapist clipped up casually. Ye Ran stiffened instantly, wishing there was a mirror behind him so he could see his own neck.

…The warm, lingering breath seemed still imprinted there.

The dark-haired therapist pressed lightly on his waist, pale and long-fingered, whispering near his ear: “Sorry, looks like there’s a mark left.”

Left a mark…

Left a mark…

Left a mark…

Ye Ran: “…!”

So why did he suddenly have to kiss my neck!

Kissing had already been excessive… now neck kisses too? Ye Ran almost panicked imagining what might come next. Sleep together?

Just thinking about it made his ears burn red.

The therapist patted his back, curious: “Wow, young man, your back’s really stiff. What kind of work do you usually do?”

Ye Ran: “….”

He buried his face in the pillow and muttered: “…I draw.”

“Oh, an artist,” the therapist laughed. “Then it makes sense to loosen your back meridians.”

Next to him, Little Fatty lay comfortably. After a while, Ye Ran suddenly asked: “Little Fatty, what kind of person do you think Shen Shi is?”

Little Fatty froze, immediately setting down his milk tea.

D*mn!

Here it comes!

This familiar, intimate conversation… but he, Lin Feipeng, was no longer the old Lin Feipeng. Now, he was a firm Shen-Ye supporter!

“Shen Shi…” he said steadily, “he’s an amazing guy.”

Ye Ran fell silent.

A few seconds later, he nodded.

Yeah, that’s accurate.

Shen Shi—a man who, as a straight man, was stiff as a straw, and as a gay, could bend like a rope—a rare type.

Ye Ran occasionally wondered if he was narrow-minded or small-minded himself, because Shen Shi could naturally kiss and hold him, while Ye Ran took a long time to accept and adapt.

Compared to a halfway-turned gay like Shen Shi, he, a naturally gay person, still had a long way to go.

After hesitating for a moment, he asked again: “Then what do you think Shen Shi’s personality is like?”

Over time, he realized that Shen Shi’s personality was far from the cold, taciturn, otherworldly image he had imagined.

But this needed more evidence; a kiss alone couldn’t prove anything.

Little Fatty said: “Shen Shi’s personality? …Cold, taciturn, otherworldly, I guess.”

Ye Ran: “….”

Ye Ran groaned: “Nothing else?”

“Let me think…” Little Fatty said. “Feels a bit strong… cough, obsessive-compulsive maybe. He either doesn’t do something, or he does it perfectly.”

Seeing Ye Ran silent, Little Fatty explained further: “Remember midterms? Shen Shi was assigned a financial modeling task. It was supposed to be led by a sophomore, but that guy took freelance work outside and slacked off, leaving the whole task to the group members.”

“Shen Shi went straight to the professor, kicked that guy out, and led the group not only to complete the modeling but also win an award.”

Knowing Ye Ran studied art, Little Fatty added for context: “It’s like if our group had seniors who didn’t do the PPT, making us not only prepare it but present it too, and still get credit. Anyone would get mad. Most would just remember it and avoid them next time. Shen Shi? He just confronted them directly.”

At first, Little Fatty was shocked hearing this, but knowing it was Shen Shi doing it, it felt completely in character.

After all, for someone like Shen Shi, words like “submit” or “compromise” probably didn’t exist in his dictionary.

Ye Ran lay on the bed, sipping his mango juice.

The massage therapist’s strength wasn’t heavy, taking into account that it was Ye Ran’s first Thai massage, and held back.

Little Fatty’s earlier words kept Ye Ran puzzled.

So the reason Shen Shi kissed him, held him, embraced him… was because of obsessive-compulsive tendencies?

Even as a “fake boyfriend,” he couldn’t lose to a real couple?

The more Ye Ran thought, the more confused he became. When the massage ended, Little Fatty was almost asleep from comfort, but Ye Ran was still mentally tangled over what Shen Shi was really thinking.

They’d eaten too much breakfast, so they weren’t planning to go to the buffet for lunch.

Brother Shu’s foot bath wasn’t finished yet. Hearing there was a fish therapy, he was lining up, leaving Little Fatty and Ye Ran to do their own activities.

“Fish therapy? Those little fish that eat dead skin?” Little Fatty shivered. “Forget it, I can’t handle it. What about you, Ye Ran? Going back?”

Ye Ran shook his head.

“Not going back. I’ll see if there are other activities.”

For now, he didn’t want to see Shen Shi.

The sensation of his neck being kissed hadn’t faded… he was afraid Shen Shi would do something beyond his expectations again.

“Then let’s go together,” Little Fatty said. “I’m planning a facial SPA. Want to join?”

“Okay,” Ye Ran answered.

The rest of the morning and afternoon, Little Fatty led Ye Ran through various activities: a facial SPA, watching a movie in the hot spring theater, trying Southeast Asian cuisine at a specialty restaurant, and even being persuaded into a casual lounge to play mahjong.

By the end of the afternoon, Ye Ran’s ears were filled with the constant “ping-pong” of mahjong tiles.

Completely exhausted, he ate a light dinner with Little Fatty, then returned to his room in a daze.

The evening sky was dim, and a cold wind blew along the long corridor.

The wooden hallway was empty; in the distance, steam rose from the hot springs.

The room lights were on.

Ye Ran pushed open the door and saw a man lying on the large bed.

Shen Shi wore a black bathrobe, looking indifferent. In the dim yellow light, his shadow stretched long, messy black hair falling over his forehead, framing narrow, cool eyes.

He held a remote, casually changed the channel, and glanced at Ye Ran.

“Back?”

Ye Ran’s mind was still full of “red middle,” “kong,” “pure suit” from mahjong.

He nodded tiredly at Shen Shi, dragging his heavy body onto his own bed. The soft bed smelled of sunlight, sinking under his weight.

Shen Shi paused in changing the channel, turning to look at him.

His phone kept vibrating; Ye Ran glanced, messages from Yu Ting, going crazy.

Yu Ting: [Don’t act rashly!] 

Yu Ting: [Better boil the frog slowly. You were doing fine before, why can’t you hold it today? Overstepped? What did you do? If you fall out with Ye Ran, I help reason but not mediate, apologize quickly, bro!]

Yu Ting: [Weren’t you two already dating? Is this relationship fake? Did you use some improper method? That’s a crime, cuffs, seriously!]

Yu Ting: [Ye Ran will probably be mad. Think carefully about how to make it right.]

…

Shen Shi withdrew his gaze, looking at Ye Ran. After a few seconds, he lightly caressed the remote and asked, “What did you do today?”

Ye Ran didn’t move, voice hoarse:

“Massage, SPA, watched a movie, played mahjong.”

“Had dinner?”

“Yes.”

“Favorite activity?”

“All the same.”

“Going again tomorrow?”

Ye Ran shivered, burying himself in the blanket, shaking his head:

“No… tomorrow I’m staying in bed, not leaving the room.”

Shen Shi said nothing.

After a while, as Ye Ran began to drift off, he felt the mattress sink beside him.

A weight pressed down on the bed. He slowly revealed his face, sleepy and flushed, eyelashes naturally drooping.

“…What’s wrong?”

Shen Shi’s shadow enveloped him. He felt lazy, unwilling to move, vision dimmed by darkness. In the quiet, Shen Shi’s voice came slowly: “Sorry.”

Ye Ran was startled. Shen Shi’s large, warm hand touched his soft black hair, lifting the ends. When Ye Ran felt uneasy, Shen Shi gently rubbed his previously kissed neck.

“I crossed the line today,” Shen Shi said softly.

A faint redness appeared again on Ye Ran’s neck.

His heart raced. He buried himself deeper into the blanket:

“It’s okay.”

“Really okay?”

Ye Ran nodded.

The room fell silent.

After a few seconds, Ye Ran took a deep breath, keeping buried in the blanket, clutching his pillow tighter, and slowly said: “But… I think there’s still some problem between us.”

“Hmm,” Shen Shi asked, “what problem?”

Ye Ran said: “…We’re a ‘pretend couple,’ so when no one else is around… we don’t actually need to do the things couples do.”

Shen Shi’s voice remained unreadable: “What things that only couples can do?”

Ye Ran, embarrassed, said:  “Holding hands, kissing… those kinds of things.”

Shen Shi responded with a quiet, “Oh.”

“Then we won’t be ‘pretend couple’ anymore.”

He said it calmly.

Ye Ran froze, hesitantly lifting his head from the blanket.

In front of him, Shen Shi quietly looked down at him, eyes pure and indifferent black, gaze casually resting on his face, saying naturally: “Ye Ran, I don’t want to pretend to be a couple with you anymore.”

“I want to pursue you,” he said slowly, making sure Ye Ran heard every word clearly. “Is that okay?”

…

Ye Ran was completely stunned.

He doubted he was hearing things.

On the bed just a short distance away, Shen Shi spoke to him like every other night—but this time, the words were earth-shattering, leaving him momentarily unable to comprehend.

“P-Pursue me?” His mind hadn’t caught up yet. “Why?”

Just because he couldn’t hold hands or kiss?

Shen Shi was… way too dedicated.

Shen Shi seemed to notice something in his question, narrowing his eyes.

“Because I like you.”

Ye Ran: “…”

Even more confused, Ye Ran lay on the bed, trapped in Shen Shi’s shadow, his mind blank for a full minute before he finally said firmly: “No. You don’t like me.”

Shen Shi silently looked at him.

Ye Ran continued: “You’re just having an OCD episode.”

“OCD,” Shen Shi slowly repeated the words, calmly asking:

“Hmm, Teacher Ye, what does that mean?”

Ye Ran’s ears tingled.

Being called “Teacher Ye” by Shen Shi made him inexplicably nervous.

He sat up on the bed, scooted back a little to put some distance between them, and looked him in the eye: “The reason you think you like me… must be that since you started questioning your sexuality, I’m the only homosexual you’ve interacted with. What you actually feel for me is…”

Ye Ran paused, searching for the right word: “A chick-feeding instinct.”

Yes, a chick-feeding instinct.

A kind of pathological psychological tendency.

Shen Shi listened as Ye Ran analyzed his inner feelings, then nodded: “You mean… I like you because of OCD plus the chick-feeding instinct.”

Ye Ran corrected him: “No like… attachment.”

“Fine,” Shen Shi said. “Attachment.”

Seeing him so obedient, unlike the stubbornness when he doubted his own sexuality before, Ye Ran relaxed. Just as he was about to speak, Shen Shi said: “Then I’ll start pursuing you.”

Ye Ran: “?”

Ye Ran: “Pursue?”

“Mm.” Shen Shi leaned toward him, neither lightly nor heavily, his eyes dark as obsidian. One long, strong hand gripped Ye Ran’s waist, pressing him upright to cooperate.

Ye Ran nervously swallowed, staring at that excessively handsome face, and murmured: “Wait, I feel—”

“I feel,” Shen Shi interrupted calmly,

“Teacher Ye, I just like you.”

Ye Ran’s pupils trembled.

He felt Shen Shi’s warm, steady breath brush lightly across his lips.

“Teacher Ye,” Shen Shi seemed to grow fond of the name, whispering into his ear, voice low, hoarse, and indifferent, as if stating a fact: “Every time I kiss you, I get hard.”

Ye Ran’s breath froze.

Shen Shi continued: “If you don’t believe me, we can kiss again.”