Ever since agreeing to go to a hotel with Shen Shi on Friday, Ye Ran had been acting somewhat abnormal for the next two days.
His gaze darted nervously. Whenever he met Shen Shi’s eyes, his ears quietly turned red.
His body movements became stiff. In daily life, this meant their physical contact dropped sharply.
Their abnormal behavior lasted so long that even the slow-reacting Little Fatty noticed. Little Fatty had never eaten pork but had seen pigs run, never been in a relationship but knew how clingy the two usually were. Yet for three consecutive days, they had no physical contact in the dorm. This made him sharply aware something was off.
…
—I suspect they might be breaking up.
[Brother Shu]: ….
[Brother Shu]: I suspect there’s something wrong with your head.
Little Fatty lay on the bed, tapping his phone rapidly. He even turned sideways on purpose, waiting until he saw Ye Ran go into the bathroom before letting out a breath and continuing to think.
[Little Fatty]: My theory makes total sense. Can you believe that for three whole days, Shen Shi didn’t hold Ye Ran’s hand in the dorm?
At first, Brother Shu thought Little Fatty was making a fuss. But after reading that sentence, he slowly sat up.
[Brother Shu]: Then the problem is serious.
With how forceful Shen Shi normally is, he could actually endure three days without holding Ye Ran’s hand?
—There’s only one truth: Ye Ran wasn’t willing.
Brother Shu was stunned: “…”
Shen Shi upset Ye Ran? No way. Ye Ran was the type to soften with a poke. Unless Shen Shi really pushed things too far… D*mn, how far did he push?
Brother Shu couldn’t figure it out, but Little Fatty already had an idea:
[They started dating because they went out together and grew feelings. Last time at the hot springs they were all sweet. Why don’t we all go out again this weekend? Create some alone time for them?]
Brother Shu secretly nodded: [You make a lot of sense. When Shen Shi comes back I’ll ask him.]
[Little Fatty]: No need, I’m already asking.
[Brother Shu]: What did Shen Shi say?
[Little Fatty]: He’s at a store outside buying things, he hasn’t come back.
Five minutes later.
Brother Shu was scrolling short videos when he suddenly received a message from Little Fatty.
[Little Fatty]: ……
[Little Fatty]: …………
Brother Shu frowned: [What happened? Shen Shi didn’t agree?]
[Little Fatty]: Link—http:jingdaluntan……
[Little Fatty]: See for yourself.
With a face full of confusion, Brother Shu tapped the link Little Fatty sent.
***
— [Some Miscellaneous Things About Running Into Shen Shi and a Friend Shopping at the School Gate]
[Original Poster]: Just finished barbecue with a friend, saw the two department heartthrobs from the Finance Department come out to buy things together, the photos have highlights
[OP]: [image.jpg][image.jpg]
1L: Highlight 1 — a cart full of snacks and chips, and Ye Ran’s favorite cheese crisps ovo
2L: Highlight 2 — how do you know Ye Ran’s favorite snacks?
3L: Highlight 3 — replying to above, all Ye Ran solo fans know, he also likes jelly, shredded squid, chips, chocolate biscuits
4L: Highlight 4 — are you people demons? How the hell do you even know all this?
5L: Highlight 5 — Ye Ran does big grocery runs at Jiajiafu Supermarket every Friday. If you watch carefully, you can see it.
6L: Highlight 6 — who the h*ll watches that!!!
7L: Highlight 7 — mind your own damn business, I just like watching.
8L: Highlight 8 — Yu Ting looks really surprised. Wait… what is Shen Shi doing in the second picture???!
The anonymous gossip-eater quietly opened the second photo.
In the photo, the lights of Jiajiafu Supermarket were bright. A long line of people stood at the checkout. Shen Shi wore a black baseball cap, one hand in his pocket, his body slightly leaning forward, looking lazy and casual. His brows lifted slightly, his refined, carefree silhouette outlined perfectly. His distinct-jointed right hand reached toward the shelf in front of the cashier and picked up a stack of small colorful boxes.
Yu Ting was standing next to him, eyes wide open.
The entire forum fell silent for a full minute, then countless guesses exploded like rain.
9L: Holy cr*p!!!
10L: Holy cr*p!!!!
11L: Holy cr*p!!!!!
[OP]: Stop “holy cr*pping.” OP was lined up right behind Shen Shi. Identified as chewing gum.
12L: ……
13L: …………
14L: Oh, spread the word, Shen Shi picked up chewing gum.
15L: Spread the word, Shen Shi picked up “little umbrellas.”
16L: Spread the word, Shen Shi picked up strawberry-flavored “little umbrellas.”
17L: Spread the word, Shen Shi picked up five boxes of green-mint-flavored “little umbrellas.”
18L: Spread the word, Shen Shi picked up a whole shelf of spiral-pattern “little umbrellas.”
……
120L: What now?
121L: Holy— I’m shocked. The latest reply says Shen Shi bought a whole shelf of cheese-crisp-flavored “little umbrellas” at an adult store??? True or not?
122L: Too many replies to scroll, but sounds 80–90% legit.
123L: Insane.
124L: Absolutely insane.
125L: Too insane.
126L: Shen Shi, supermarket, umbrellas — you get it?
127L: Shen Shi, adult store, five boxes — you get it?
128L: Shen Shi, cheese crisps, a whole shelf — you get it?
……
[Brother Shu]: ……
[Brother Shu]: …………
So this is how rumors are born, huh?
Him: [Finished reading.]
Him: [Anyway, as long as they didn’t fight.]
[Little Fatty]: Heh.
Good my *ss.
Not good at all.
I’ve practically turned into sour pickle flavor.
***
Ye Ran came out of the bathroom after washing.
The bathroom was still misty with steam. His hair was blown half-dry, a towel hung around his neck, the fine, soft black strands naturally falling and dripping a few drops of water. His still-damp long fingers picked up the phone flashing nonstop on the table and saw the long string of messages Shen Shi sent.
[Shen Shi]: What do you want to eat
[Shen Shi]: Cheese crisps, shredded squid, jelly, anything else you want?
[Shen Shi]: There’s a new seaweed flavor, want to try?
[Shen Shi]: Bought lots of new snacks, check later if there are any you like
Seven or eight messages in a row. Ye Ran looked at them hesitantly.
Ever since he agreed to Shen Shi that night, Shen Shi’s attitude hadn’t changed at all. Still cold to others, still gentle to him. His calmness slowly influenced Ye Ran, making Ye Ran, after being embarrassed for three days straight, begin to doubt himself.
…Did he dream that night?
Or did Shen Shi never actually say anything about booking a room?
He was confused. These past three days, Shen Shi hadn’t climbed onto his bed again. He even appeared utterly patient: Ye Ran avoided his kisses and hugs, and Shen Shi endured it, something impossible before.
With Shen Shi’s cold, forceful temper in bed, normally if Ye Ran dodged once, he would pause, lift his eyelids, stare at him deeply until Ye Ran couldn’t take it, then lower his head and continue kissing.
The kisses would get fiercer, making Ye Ran’s tongue tip swollen and watery.
If Ye Ran dodged twice… well, Ye Ran usually wouldn’t dodge twice. The instinct of a herbivore told him: if he angered a Shen Shi who was desperate to kiss him, he’d definitely suffer for it.
That night was exactly like that: he was kissed until dazed, his shirt rolled up to his stomach soaked with sweat, the soft white flesh of his waist and sides turned red from being kissed.
Shen Shi, head buried, the muscles of his back tight and solid like a burning-hot iron plate, half coaxing and half pleading as he murmured sweet words in a low, intimate voice. Ye Ran’s face flushed red from listening, and in a confused daze, he nodded.
Like the foolish king bewitched by the Seductress Shen.
Then… came the crushing regret after he sobered up the next day.
But these two days, Shen Shi’s behavior suddenly made Ye Ran realize:
If Shen Shi wants to hold back, he can definitely hold back.
Ye Ran couldn’t help thinking, maybe they didn’t have to go to a hotel.
If they just kept dating for another year or two, then everything would naturally fall into place. Shen Shi was usually reasonable; maybe this time he’d agree.
He dried his hair with the towel, trying to calm his racing heart as he waited for Shen Shi to come back. To distract himself, he opened the campus forum, hoping to skim through some random posts.
The top trending thread, just ten minutes old, made his heart stop:
“Was Shen Shi really buying that at the supermarket off campus?”
Ye Ran: “?”
He blinked, his heartbeat almost jumping out of his throat, and with trembling hands he clicked open the main post.
【Original Poster】: [picture.jpg] A bystander coming from the thread next door. I’ll briefly explain the main point of the thread next door. As shown in the picture, Shen Shi bought five boxes of small rain umbrellas at the supermarket……
The rest of the text, Ye Ran could no longer understand. In just three sentences, every character looked like tiny tadpoles, crooked and twisting as they entered his eyes.
The hand Ye Ran used to hold his phone kept trembling: “……”
… Five, five boxes.
He would die.
He would definitely die!
No longer having the heart to wait for Shen Shi to openly have a proper talk with him, Ye Ran’s earlobes were red to the point of dripping blood. His steps weak, he climbed onto the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Twenty minutes later, the dorm room door was pushed open.
He caught sight of a familiar figure.
Tall, slender.
Carrying a plastic bag in his hand.
Inside a big bag of snacks, five or six small square boxes squeezed the plastic bag into several sharp corners.
Ye Ran: “……”
Ye Ran: “…………”
Ye Ran trembled as he turned over, his mind completely turning into mush.
His body curled up involuntarily. From his earlobes down his neck rose a patch of flushed heat. Flustered and frightened, he felt as if damp, greedy licking brushed again along his waist, soft white skin marked in deep and shallow traces, the feeling still lingering.
No.
He thought in panic.
… Shen Shi like this, no.
***
Time slowly moved toward Friday.
On Friday afternoon, the Finance Department had a lecture. A certain famous economist was invited to Beijing University to give a talk, and also to share study advice with the students.
Little Fatty and Brother Shu were not in the dorm. The dorm lights were off. After eating, Ye Ran listlessly climbed into bed to take a nap.
Before leaving, Shen Shi had, for once, forcefully made him accept a deep and heavy kiss. Perhaps in preparation for the main event that night, he even kissed rather restrainedly. Ye Ran sat at the edge of the bed, his two long, slender legs hanging down, held by Shen Shi as he was kissed with his neck pressed down.
When it finally ended, Ye Ran was breathing heavily, head lowered, the outer corners of his eyes tinted red, water traces still at the corner of his lips.
Shen Shi lifted his head and licked away that bit of water. His voice low, hoarse, and gentle, leaning beside Ye Ran’s ear, his tone neither light nor heavy: “Baby, wait for me to come back.”
Ye Ran didn’t dare move. A few seconds later, bracing himself, he lifted his head and spoke in a small voice: “Shen Shi, what if we……”
“Hmm?” From below the bed, Shen Shi’s gaze was deep and dark, like thick ink, fixed on him. He resembled a lazy, casual male beast, appearing especially dangerous only because he hadn’t yet been satisfied. He asked offhandedly: “What if what?”
Ye Ran’s eyelid twitched. His sixth sense urged him to change his words: “What if… what if we go later?”
Shen Shi laughed lightly. His phone in his pocket vibrated three times, probably Yu Ting urging him. But he didn’t care at all, didn’t even glance at it. His eyes followed Ye Ran without shifting. His words revealed no hint of distraction: “Mm, you can go whenever you want.”
Ye Ran froze, the grip he had on the railing loosening a little: “Then let’s go later.”
He met Shen Shi’s gaze, dark, with a flash of light passing through.
Before he noticed it, Shen Shi had already pressed a gentle kiss to his jaw. His pale, slender hand gripped Ye Ran’s waist. As if casually, he reminded softly: “Everything follows you. Don’t run around. Wait for me to come back.”
“Mm.” Ye Ran lowered his eyes.
The phone in Shen Shi’s pocket began ringing for the fifth time. He finally pulled it out. His expression didn’t change at all. After pressing hang up, a trace of impatience flashed through his eyes. After saying two more sentences to Ye Ran, he left the dorm.
The Finance Department’s lecture would last about one to two hours.
It was now 2:50 p.m.
The weather was gloomy. The gray sky stretched endlessly, clouds gathering thickly, so heavy they seemed ready to fall at any moment.
The balcony window rattled loudly in the wind.
Outside the dorm building, the skinny branches of evergreen trees crossed and stretched, blocking much of the view.
Ye Ran went to close the balcony window. Before pulling the curtains, he saw the backs of Shen Shi and Yu Ting downstairs.
Two or three other boys were also gathered around Shen Shi. Shen Shi’s head was lowered, the zipper of his windbreaker pulled up to his jaw. His tall, thin back looked completely untouched by desire. Yet Ye Ran knew best what Shen Shi’s expression and preferences were like at certain moments.
Ye Ran’s Adam’s apple moved slightly as he swallowed.
He gripped the curtain tightly. His head heated up as he made a bold, reckless decision.
—Run.
Avoid tonight first.
The rest… he would talk about tomorrow.
Shen Shi couldn’t catch him right away… right?
