At six the next morning, Ye Ran’s alarm went off.
Still half-asleep, he pushed Shen Shi awake. It was pitch dark outside, the sky not yet light, and the westerly wind was rolling in flakes of snow, like torn bits of cotton drifting in the air.
The two of them hurried through washing up in the bathroom. Shen Shi’s clothes were still damp, so Ye Ran, who always bought his winter uniforms a size larger, lent him one. It fit surprisingly well.
He was groggy but knew what mattered most right now, getting Shen Shi out before anyone noticed.
The Ye household was silent and dark.
Father Ye, older in age, was very particular about his sleep. He always wore both an eye mask and earplugs. Confirming that his father hadn’t woken yet, Ye Ran nervously led Shen Shi out of the house.
Outside, the hotel driver stood waiting respectfully. “Sir—”
Shen Shi shot him a cold glance.
He hadn’t slept much.
His hair was messy, his dark eyes sharp and slightly irritable when he turned his head.
The driver hesitated. “Um… just you two?”
Ye Ran blinked. “And you are?”
“Private car service booked by Jiang Yun,” Shen Shi explained. “It’s arranged by the hotel.”
Ye Ran nodded. In Beijing, many hotels offered such services; it wasn’t unusual.
“Then you should go,” he said, still drowsy. Wrapped only in a down jacket, he hunched his shoulders against the cold wind.
Shen Shi knew this wasn’t the time to linger. “Mm,” he answered briefly. “I’ll call you when I get back.”
“Alright. Be careful on the road.”
The driver was still waiting by the car.
Ye Ran watched as Shen Shi got in. The rear window lowered halfway, and Shen Shi turned to look at him, gesturing with his hand for Ye Ran to go back inside.
Ye Ran waved to him. Only when the car started and its taillights disappeared into the dark distance did he yawn and slowly head back home.
…
The next half month passed peacefully for Ye Ran.
Father Ye left on the tenth to go to Shanghai for business negotiations. The Ye family wasn’t a large enterprise, and in recent years, they’d mostly worked with smaller companies. This was their first opportunity to connect with a major corporation, so Father Ye took it very seriously, spending his last few days at home poring over case studies of past collaborations with Zhendin Company.
An Yu returned from Hebei on the tenth as well, in low spirits. His mother was suppressing her grief, while his father had taken her to Southeast Asia to manage their business. From the way An Yu talked, it sounded like his parents had been quarreling constantly these past days.
To comfort him, Ye Ran took him all over Beijing: hot springs, hiking, shopping at Wangfujing, visiting the Forbidden City. They’d been to all these places countless times since childhood, but revisiting them now felt different.
As for Shen Shi, he hadn’t been able to return to the country. His family had gone to Sydney for a family gathering and would be staying at a winery there for some time.
But Sydney was only two hours ahead of Beijing, which made video calls easy.
Everyone was busy in their own way, yet they kept each other company.
Finally, on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, Beijing University reopened for the spring term.
Countless students poured in from all over the country, and the vast campus came back to life, buzzing with energy once again. Shops along the back and south streets reopened, offering “new semester specials” to attract customers.
Ye Ran was climbing the dorm stairs, pulling his suitcase. “Mm-hm… I know, what? … Your roommate lives upstairs from you now?”
On the video call, An Yu’s face twisted in frustration. “Yeah! It’s driving me crazy. He insisted I come to his party last night, what’s wrong with him?! Why do I always end up with such weird roommates, seriously?!”
Maybe it was because he’d been in love recently, but Ye Ran’s instincts told him something was off. Frowning, he stopped on the landing to rest and asked, “I never asked before, your new roommate’s also an international student?”
“No,” An Yu sighed. “He’s mixed Chinese and English, born and raised in the UK.”
Ye Ran: “And you two… get along?”
“Get along? No way!” An Yu’s eyes widened. “He’s the one I’m always complaining about! Brings different guys home every day, throws parties nonstop like he can’t survive without them! … Forget it, I don’t wanna talk about him anymore. Go unpack your stuff first. We’ll chat later.”
At this hour, it should be around three or four in the morning in England. Ye Ran sighed helplessly. “Alright then, go to sleep. You’ve stayed up so late again, how will you have any energy for class tomorrow?”
An Yu giggled. “Okay okay, I’m going to sleep. Hanging up now.”
“Mm, bye.”
After hanging up, Ye Ran thought about what An Yu had said, climbing the stairs absentmindedly. Worry gnawed at him, he even considered flying to England himself to check on An Yu and take a look at that supposedly “wild and carefree” ex-roommate.
But then he thought about how this wasn’t An Yu’s first relationship, and felt a bit more at ease.
An Yu, the true little prince of early romance.
He shouldn’t be so easily deceived or hurt.
The second-floor corridor was lively. New students were rushing about; some boys who already knew each other greeted one another in passing. Ye Ran, wrapped in a scarf, took out his key and walked to the door of dorm room 211. Just as he was about to unlock it, he noticed the door wasn’t locked.
Hm?
Someone got here before him?
He pushed the door open in surprise and froze at the sight inside.
Shen Shi stood there, dressed simply in black, his figure tall and lean. Hearing the sound, he turned his head. The dim daylight behind him outlined his silhouette with a faint rim of pale light.
He was alone in the room.
One hand held a rag, the other braced on the desk. His dark eyes fixed steadily on Ye Ran, and his lips curved faintly, half in smile, half not. “Don’t recognize me?”
Ye Ran stood frozen for a full minute before coming back to himself in disbelief. “Shen… Shen Shi?”
Shen Shi didn’t move. He just looked at him. “It’s me.”
Ye Ran took a deep breath, shut the door, dropped his suitcase, and then broke into a run.
It had been more than half a month since they’d last seen each other.
It wasn’t only Shen Shi who missed him, Ye Ran had missed him too.
Even though they video-called every day, it just wasn’t the same as seeing him in person.
He crashed straight into Shen Shi’s arms. Above his head came Shen Shi’s low laugh; Shen Shi’s chin rested on his hair, the soft black strands tickling him and making his heart soften.
He simply sat down on the chair, still holding Ye Ran in his arms. His strong arms locked around Ye Ran’s waist as he tilted his head up and gently kissed the corner of his lips.
Ye Ran looked down at him. The corners of his eyes, reddened from the cold wind, lifted slightly as he asked in surprise, “Didn’t you say you’d be back a few days later?”
“Things at home got settled early, so I could come back on time,” Shen Shi said with a smile.
Ye Ran was delighted, leaning in close to him, he’d gotten used to this kind of closeness and loved Shen Shi’s open, gentle affection. “Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve picked you up from the airport.”
“Too much trouble.”
Shen Shi pinched his fingertips, gaze falling to Ye Ran’s soft, flushed lips. The meaning in his eyes was clear, his gaze deep and unhurried as he looked at him.
Ever since that night, Ye Ran had found it harder and harder to meet Shen Shi’s eyes when he looked at him like that. Whenever their eyes met, it felt like fire licking at his pupils, his chest hurt, even his feet felt hot.
That night, Little Ye Ran had been thoroughly spoiled. Yet even though it had been… pleasant, whenever he remembered the process of that pleasure, Ye Ran would flush and toss restlessly all night, unable to sleep.
Sometimes he’d bury his face in his pillow at midnight, groaning in embarrassed regret.
Shen Shi’s legs shifted slightly, and Ye Ran, sitting on his lap, moved along with him, suddenly realizing the position they were in.
He looked around nervously, not daring to meet Shen Shi’s lips, a thin sheen of sweat forming on his back. “…Little Fatty and the others will be here soon,” he whispered.
“I asked,” Shen Shi replied, “one of them’s arriving this afternoon, the other tonight.”
Ye Ran, still straddling him, flushed harder at the position, it was far too embarrassing.
With no other excuse left, he lowered his head, braced his hands on Shen Shi’s shoulders, and kissed him.
Shen Shi caught his lips precisely, his breath hot and heavy. Ye Ran’s eyes fluttered; his breathing grew unsteady, his soft, pink tongue slipping out slightly, only to be caught and deeply, almost roughly, kissed.
The wide dorm room filled with the faint sounds of wet kisses— soft and slick, lips parting and meeting again.
By the end, Ye Ran’s lashes were wet with tears. He panted in small breaths, feeling the burning trail of kisses spreading up to his ears.
He had no strength left. Gradually, he’d gotten used to Shen Shi’s kisses, his touch, leaning against his shoulder with half-lowered eyes, dazed and wordless.
The satisfied beast of a man, however, toyed with his earlobe, whispering lowly into his ear all sorts of dirty words.
At one point, Ye Ran’s eyelids twitched sharply. He straightened up and glared at him. “…What nonsense are you saying?!”
“What’s wrong?” Shen Shi lifted his eyelids, pretending not to understand, his dark eyes glinting with hidden laughter. He leaned to Ye Ran’s ear and murmured, “Tonight I’ll—”
“Shen Shi!” Ye Ran jolted as if struck by lightning, clapping a hand over his mouth. His cheeks flamed as he hissed furiously, “From now on, you’re not allowed to talk!”
It wasn’t that he was saying anything truly obscene but in broad daylight, with the faint sound of students chatting and laughing outside in the hallway, Ye Ran was mortified and furious. He wished he could bleach every bit of filth out of Shen Shi’s brain.
The man’s lips, squished together under Ye Ran’s fingers, looked like a platypus’s. No matter how handsome Shen Shi was, this expression didn’t suit him. Ye Ran was caught off guard by a laugh, then immediately remembered to be angry again—pinching his face harder. “This is the dorm! You’re not allowed to fool around!”
“Oh.” Shen Shi replied lazily.
Ye Ran, annoyed, kept pinching him. “Swear it!”
Shen Shi said, “I swear, I swear.”
Ye Ran: “…”
Ye Ran: “Be serious!”
Shen Shi finally lifted his gaze to him, his pupils a pure, cold black. “I want to fool around,” he said seriously.
Ye Ran: “…”
Ye Ran almost lost his breath, half laughing, half angry. The soft smile at the corner of his lips was so warm and sweet it could intoxicate. Shen Shi also laughed, kissing his cheek. “Baby, what exactly counts as ‘fooling around’?”
“Mm…” Ye Ran pushed him away and thought carefully. “Like what you just said, that counts as fooling around.”
Shen Shi raised an eyebrow. “Like, if I say I want to lick—”
“Shut up!” Ye Ran quickly pinched his mouth, face dark. “Saying things like that is fooling around!”
Shen Shi nodded, eyes thoughtful.
Only when he seemed to genuinely understand did Ye Ran hesitantly let go. “Anything like what you just said or what you’re thinking of doing counts as fooling around.”
Shen Shi asked, “Does kissing count?”
Ye Ran froze, cleared his throat. “No.”
He knew the difference between restraint and excess.
Shen Shi seemed satisfied. “I accept that.”
“You accept it?” Ye Ran was doubtful, he’d just been so firm in saying no, and now he was suddenly agreeable. “You really understand what I mean, right?”
Shen Shi patted his lower back, tone steady. “Perfectly clear.”
Ye Ran wanted to make him repeat it, but he was afraid Shen Shi would say something he couldn’t bear to hear, so he decided to take his word for it.
Since they’d arrived early, after a bit of cuddling they began cleaning the room.
Ye Ran swept the floor; Shen Shi wiped down both their desks and chairs.
The dorm was already fairly clean, just a thin layer of dust, hardly any sweeping needed.
But the desks had gathered more dust, so Ye Ran grabbed a new rag and joined in.
He was used to doing chores at home, his movements practiced and neat. Compared to certain young masters who wouldn’t even pick up a fallen bottle, Ye Ran was the model of a capable young man.
Shen Shi started by wiping Ye Ran’s desk. Once Ye Ran joined, their efficiency doubled. After finishing his own, Ye Ran moved over to Shen Shi’s desk. Seeing how dirty the water in the basin had gotten, he said without looking back, “Shen Shi, go change the water.”
Shen Shi smiled at his back, agreed softly, and obediently carried the basin to the balcony to get fresh water.
When he came back, Ye Ran was about to wash the rag again.
After he finished rinsing it, the water was gray once more. Shen Shi picked up the basin and politely asked, “Should I change it again?”
Ye Ran nodded. “Yeah, go ahead.”
In a way, the two of them made quite the cooperative pair, completing one of the key tasks of returning to school together.
At noon, they went to the cafeteria for lunch. After a semester, everyone was familiar with campus life now; no one was sneaking photos of Shen Shi anymore.
…
But the school forum was far from calm.
The post titled “Have You Shipped Today?”, dormant over winter break, was once again blowing up with new photos.
588L: Haven’t seen them for a whole vacation, and the couple’s gotten even sweeter.
589L: Bonus—cafeteria candid! [image.jpg]
600L: Ugh, even standing in line for food they have to hold hands. Is this what couples do for fun?
601L: Look at Shen Shi acting all clingy, hooking his pinky around Ye Ran’s and swinging it! We all saw that!
602L: As someone who stood right behind them and got force-fed dog food, I can confirm, Shen Shi’s “boyfriend brain” has fermented over the break.
603L: No wonder I smelled something sour.
604L: Turns out it’s not just the smell of love—it’s the sourness of being love-drunk.
605L: yue
606L: yue
607L: yue
608L: Shen Shi, yue~~~~
