The campus square at night glimmered with lights.
Multicolored strings of bulbs hung from the trees, and a bright banner proclaimed: “Join a great club, create a great tomorrow.”
The early autumn night was hot and stifling.
The square was packed, filled with noise and laughter.
Ye Ran was squeezed in from all sides, sweating through his shirt. His hair clung to his cheeks, and his washed-glass eyes drooped listlessly—he’d lost all interest in the festivities.
Little Fatty was drenched too, but still craned his neck excitedly. “What club is that over there? That one—under that tree!”
Ye Ran, taller by five centimeters at 1.78 meters, looked in that direction. His gaze paused. “Astronomy Club.”
“Finally found one after all this walking,” Brother Shu sighed. “This is livelier than the temple fairs back home.”
Little Fatty fanned himself with his palm. “Temple fair? Never seen one in my life.”
“I’ll take you guys during winter break,” Brother Shu promised. “My hometown has an official heritage site—it’s amazing.”
Ye Ran wiped the sweat off his face. “Mm.”
Amid the noisy crowd, he suddenly felt someone’s gaze. The light around him flickered—colorful bulbs glinting, the street dance club’s pounding music echoing from afar. He looked up and met a pair of eyes.
The boy was staring straight at him, flashing a sunny smile.
Ye Ran paused mid-step.
He searched his memory for that vaguely familiar face.
…Had he seen him somewhere before?
But he couldn’t remember.
He turned his eyes away, frowning slightly.
He knew that look very well.
Interest. Flirtation.
This Liang Feng… was the same kind of person as him.
“Ye Ran, hurry up and sign up!” Little Fatty’s loud voice pulled him back. “Why are there so many people at the Astronomy Club table?”
Following his voice, Ye Ran saw that the Astronomy Club shared a tent with the Extreme Sports Club next door. Under the tent, several people were bent over the table, filling out registration forms.
Urged on by Little Fatty, Ye Ran walked closer—and spotted Yu Ting.
Yu Ting noticed him too, eyes lighting up instantly. “Ye Ran, you’re signing up too?”
His friendly tone eased Ye Ran’s mood a little. “Yeah, I came to register. Looks like there are quite a few people joining the Astronomy Club.”
“Ha,” Yu Ting waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t be fooled—half of them are just here slacking off.”
Ye Ran: “?”
Yu Ting patted the shoulder of a guy filling out a form beside him. “These are all our old members pretending to be new recruits. They just quit last week, but they came back to make the club look popular.”
The guy who was shoved glared at him. “Keep it down! The school’s pushing for fair competition this year. If other clubs find out what we’re doing…”
Ye Ran tensed. “What happens then?”
The guy said solemnly, “We’ll be secretly laughed at.”
Ye Ran: “……”
What a huge tragedy.
He could laugh right now, actually.
Yu Ting was exasperated. “Forget it, as long as you guys are happy.”
He turned to Ye Ran. “Come fill out the form, Ye Ran. Our club’s in demand—counting you and me, that’s already two new members!”
Ye Ran: “……”
Little Fatty, who had just arrived, overheard that and frowned skeptically. “Huh? Ye Ran, maybe think twice. Sounds like this club might collapse tomorrow.”
“Hey, you little fatty, watch your mouth—don’t spread rumors!” grumbled one of the “old” members.
A “new” member chimed in indignantly, “Yeah! Every club has its own rhythm. Who says we’re collapsing?”
Ye Ran sighed and took the form from Yu Ting, crouching down to fill it out.
Beside him, Little Fatty and Yu Ting were still debating the Astronomy Club’s “structure” and “life expectancy.”
A cool breeze suddenly brushed against his cheek.
A small handheld fan was blowing, the faint crackle of electric current audible in its hum.
Ye Ran turned his head—and the boy he’d seen in the crowd earlier was now standing right in front of him.
Up close, the boy’s features were bright and handsome, his smile infectious—but there was too much intent in his eyes, too much purpose.
It made Ye Ran shift sideways, instinctively putting some space between them.
“Hei, classmate, want to join our Extreme Sports Club?” The boy held up a small fan, blowing cool air toward him. “Our club has plenty of funding — for our very first activity, we’re taking everyone skydiving at the City South Park!”
Ye Ran’s face stayed expressionless. “Not interested.”
He lowered his head and continued filling out the form. The flickering colored lights glinted over his eyes. The heat made his eyelids slightly red; his lashes were like scattered crow feathers, fine and soft.
The bit of neck showing from his black T-shirt was pale and slender, his whole demeanor calm and gentle.
Liang Feng’s smile deepened, his voice smooth and warm. “Ye Ran, you only get one youth. If you lose your courage out of fear, that’s a real pity, don’t you think?”
Ye Ran paused and frowned at him. “You know me?”
“How sad,” Liang Feng said, though his smile didn’t fade. “We’re in the same class, Ye Ran. Don’t you remember my name?”
Ye Ran thought for a moment. “Zhou Qi?”
Liang Feng’s smile froze.
“We have someone named Zhou Qi in our class?”
“Isn’t that you?” Ye Ran glanced at him sideways.
Liang Feng’s grin gradually faded. After a few seconds, he curved his lips slightly. “Looks like you really don’t want to join our club. Alright then — if you ever change your mind, you’re always welcome.”
After that, he didn’t press further and left cleanly.
Watching his back, Ye Ran lowered his head again to finish the form.
Beside him, Little Fatty and Brother Shu had gone quiet at some point. They’d overheard the whole exchange. Little Fatty burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“Who was that guy? Couldn’t he tell you just want to slack off? ‘Be brave,’ he says—hahaha, I’m dying here!”
Brother Shu laughed too, still a bit confused. “Yeah, not the brightest, but why did his words to you sound so weird? Gave me goosebumps.”
Ye Ran paused at that, fingers tightening slightly on the pen.
He’d known his orientation since he was young.
After starting school, he always kept a deliberate distance from both boys and girls. Before college, his only real friend had been his childhood buddy. Because he had so few friends, he cherished them all the more.
In dorm 211 — Little Fatty, Brother Shu… and Shen Shi — even though they’d only lived together for a little over a month, Ye Ran genuinely thought of them as friends.
There’s a kind of radar between gay people, and in 211, he was the only one. He wasn’t sure if, once the others knew, they’d still treat him the same way.
…He shouldn’t have made friends so soon.
Ye Ran thought quietly.
He’d soon be alone again.
Doubt, disgust, rejection, suspicion… all those emotions would soon surround him.
A thin white haze seemed to rise before his eyes — things were getting blurry.
Then Little Fatty’s voice broke through the fog, loud and clear: “Weird? What’s weird? I thought it was corny as h*ll! My fifty-year-old high school teacher used to say stuff like that all the time. For a second, I thought I was looking at his son!”
Brother Shu burst out laughing. “I was just about to say that! Too much chicken soup for the soul!”
“Not chicken soup — poison soup,” Little Fatty corrected. “And anyway, I’ve done extreme sports before. Last time, I tried the cliff swing on a group trip. Super boring. I actually fell asleep up there — they had to pinch my philtrum to wake me up.”
Brother Shu laughed harder. “Good thing they did, or you’d have died still talking tough!”
…
Ye Ran loosened his grip unconsciously, his heart sinking into something soft like cotton candy. His eyes curved slightly, showing a hint of a smile.
He went back to filling out the form, ignoring the thoughtful glance Yu Ting cast his way.
***
Ten o’clock at night.
The three of them — Ye Ran, Little Fatty, and Brother Shu — returned to the dorm one after another.
The air conditioner temperature was just right. Little Fatty pushed open the door first, surprised to see Shen Shi still sitting in his chair instead of being in bed.
“Shen Shi, you’re still up?”
“Yeah, it’s early.” Shen Shi put down his phone. His gaze skimmed over Little Fatty and Brother Shu, then landed on Ye Ran. “You signed up?”
Ye Ran’s hair was a little damp, sweat still clinging to his nose. He was the type who sweated easily, but with his pale skin, he didn’t look disheveled — just a bit languid and hazy.
“We all signed up,” Ye Ran said with a smile. “I joined Astronomy, Little Fatty joined Go, Brother Shu joined Literature. What about you? Still deciding?”
Shen Shi looked away, speaking casually. “Yeah, still thinking.”
“Too hot, too hot, too hot,” Little Fatty muttered. He was sweating even more than Ye Ran. Finally, he couldn’t stand it — stripped off his shirt and pants, grabbed fresh clothes, and headed for the shower.
Shen Shi frowned unconsciously. Ye Ran, changing his shoes, didn’t notice. Shen Shi’s voice dropped slightly as he called, “Lin Feipeng, the window’s open.”
“Huh?” Little Fatty didn’t care. “It’s fine, the dorm across the way’s all guys too. Don’t worry, no one’s gonna take advantage of me.”
Brother Shu burst out laughing. “Who would want to?”
Ye Ran looked up, smiling at their banter.
…
Buzz buzz.
The phone on the desk vibrated.
Shen Shi’s eyes darkened. He looked away, annoyed.
-Are you there?
The message was from Yu Ting.
-Say it.
Yu Ting: [You still haven’t decided which club to join?]
Shen Shi: [.]
That dot — pure impatience.
Yu Ting got the hint and got straight to the point: [You should hurry and join one, or your dorm might end up leaving you out. When Ye Ran was signing up today, a bunch of people from other clubs were trying to recruit him. One guy was really into it — kept chasing after him, even brought out a little fan to blow on him.]
Shen Shi’s gaze froze, his brows knitting so tightly they could crush a fly.
He was usually calm and indifferent, rarely showing any emotional fluctuations, but now there was a clear shift in his mood. The sound of running water came from the bathroom; Ye Ran and Brother Shu exchanged a glance and quieted their movements.
When Shen Shi didn’t reply, Yu Ting didn’t seem to notice anything off and kept texting: [That guy seems to be Ye Ran’s classmate, too. He even asked if Ye Ran remembered his name. Haha, I told you, those art department types are always kinda like that.]
Shen Shi: [He was being harassed?]
Both of them knew exactly who “he” referred to.
Yu Ting: […]
Yu Ting: [Why would you think that? But yeah, that guy did look kind of familiar… Wait—holy sh*t, I remember now! You know that second-year art student who had to retake the course? That’s his boyfriend!]
Yu Ting: [Man, that circle is such a mess.]
Yu Ting: […But seriously, why would he go after Ye Ran?]
Over in the opposite dorm building, Yu Ting set his phone down and sighed helplessly.
He’d already hinted this much—Shen Shi should get it by now.
Shen Shi was always a sharp guy. You could tell from the kinds of people who hung around him—all outstanding in their fields. He was calm, cautious, proud, and always knew when to act or retreat.
Yu Ting actually liked Ye Ran’s personality, but he couldn’t ignore the fact that Shen Shi’s reaction whenever the word gay came up was… not great.
To prevent any potential disaster later on, it was best to let Shen Shi figure out the “truth” himself. That would be better for both Ye Ran and Shen Shi.
Sigh.
Good thing he realized early—otherwise, given how different Shen Shi had been acting toward Ye Ran lately, it might take him a while to recover.
…
In dorm 211.
Shen Shi sat motionless in the shadows, his expression unreadable. His head was slightly bowed, dark hair falling naturally forward, hiding the depth in his eyes. For a brief moment, his composure slipped—but he forced it back down.
He stared at Yu Ting’s long string of messages on the screen, flashes of past moments replaying vividly in his mind.
He thought of how, when Little Fatty took off his shirt earlier, Ye Ran hadn’t looked away; and how, a few days ago when it poured rain and Shen Shi came back to the dorm soaked and shirtless, Ye Ran had only politely glanced aside, calm and unbothered.
It was obvious.
Ye Ran was straight.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of fluster or awkwardness in his behavior. They’d lived together for over a month, and Shen Shi had never sensed any discomfort from him.
He was just a perfectly normal roommate—bathing, eating, sleeping, chatting, staying up late to talk.
Ye Ran couldn’t possibly be gay.
Then that guy—with a boyfriend, no less—had actually harassed him?
Shen Shi’s expression hardened, cold and filled with disgust.
[I’ve decided.]
Yu Ting was just about to get off his bed to shower when his phone lit up. He grabbed it and saw Shen Shi’s cryptic message.
[?]
[Decided what?]
[I’m joining the Astronomy Club too.]
Yu Ting: “?”
Yu Ting: “???”
Bang!
A loud crash came from his dorm room, followed by startled shouts.
“Holy cr*p, Yu Ting, you okay?”
“How’d you fall off the bed?”
“Dude, should we take you to the hospital or what?”
Yu Ting struggled to raise his hand, snatched his phone—
D*mn it.
The one who needs a hospital is on the other end of this conversation!
Shen Shi, you homophobic b*stard, did you take the wrong meds?!
Author’s Note:
First taste of “truth smells so good.”
Once again: Ye Ran is gay, but he’s a lazy kind of gay — he’s never thought about dating, has no worldly desires, and it’s just natural for him to be indifferent. It’s hard for him to even imagine anything romantic or sexual.
Shen Shi: “He must be straight.”
Later—
Shen Shi: “He’s not as bent as me.”
