Shoutout to Kari for the commission!
After returning to the dormitory, Le Cheng hurriedly opened his phone, connected it to his computer, and found the document, carefully checking all of his bills and credit balances.
After going through every single one, Le Cheng took a deep breath and then buried his face in his hands.
He. Really. Paid. It. All. Off!
All of his credit balances, both the legitimate and not-so-legitimate ones, including Huabei and Jiebei, had all been paid off. He still had 1,500 yuan left in his hands.
This made Le Cheng extremely excited.
After being back for nearly half a year, he had finally achieved the accomplishment of being debt-free.
Although the amount wasn’t particularly large, for someone who was still a university student, being able to pay it all off so quickly was already a miracle.
Of course, he had Zhou Shirui to thank for commissioning that CG from him. Those one hundred thousand yuan had been crucial, accounting for more than half of the total one hundred and sixty thousand.
Le Cheng couldn’t help but let out two silly laughs. Tan Xiaobai heard him and teased, “What’s gotten into you again? Did something good happen? Or, has spring arrived?”
Le Cheng turned around and pretended he was going to punch him. Tan Xiaobai immediately begged for mercy. “Ah, my mistake, my mistake! Spare me, spare me!”
Le Cheng was far too happy to hold it against him. His phone vibrated, and a message popped up.
[Client Senior Zhou: Are you asleep?]
[Orange: Not yet!]
[Client Senior Zhou: Why are you still awake?]
[Orange: Hehehe, I’m a little excited, so I can’t sleep!]
[Client Senior Zhou: You really do seem very happy.]
Le Cheng hugged his phone. Right now, everything looked especially pleasing to his eyes, let alone Zhou Shirui, whom he had already found rather pleasing before.
Just as he was about to reply, he saw Zhou Shirui ask:
[Client Senior Zhou: What happened that made you so happy?]
Le Cheng hadn’t explained things clearly earlier. At the time, he had been too excited for his brain to function properly.
Le Cheng pursed his lips and tapped at the screen, thinking of a more tactful way to put it.
[Orange: Um… something happened in my family before, and it was pretty troublesome. I just found out that it’s all been taken care of now.]
[Orange: So before, I was always really anxious because of this, and I didn’t take the initiative to do certain things.]
[Orange: But now, all the trouble has been resolved.]
[Orange: I feel like the things and relationships I’d been worrying about before can all change a little now.]
[Orange: Puppy with hands on hips.jpg]
What he said sounded almost like a riddle, but Zhou Shirui was an extremely perceptive person. Almost instinctively, he felt that Le Cheng was hinting at something.
[Client Senior Zhou: So?]
[Client Senior Zhou: What relationship needs to change?]
Zhou Shirui had a pretty good grasp of the important point. Le Cheng decided to keep the answer a mystery for now.
[Orange: Ah, when the time comes and I do it, I’ll definitely tell you.]
[Orange: Don’t ask yet.]
[Orange: Puppy bowing.jpg]
[Orange: But I can give you a little hint in advance.]
[Orange: It’s good news!]
Zhou Shirui’s status stayed on “typing” for a long time.
[Client Senior Zhou: Okay.]
[Client Senior Zhou: I’ll remember that.]
[Client Senior Zhou: Good news.]
Of course, Le Cheng wasn’t lying. Because he really thought it was good news.
Now that all his debts had been paid off, it was time for him to reexamine his relationship with Zhou Shirui.
From disliking each other at the beginning to now being almost like friends, yet still wearing the empty shell of a romantic relationship.
Zhou Shirui probably disliked things being this way too, but he was a good person, generous, and thin-skinned. He had been very accommodating and was probably too embarrassed to bring it up himself, perhaps because he was afraid of hurting Le Cheng.
After all, Le Cheng had previously acted rather clingy.
Ever since Zhou Shirui had been kissed by him and had even taken the initiative to say it was his own fault, Le Cheng had realized there was a problem.
He didn’t want to cut ties with Zhou Shirui, but he also didn’t want to continue maintaining this strange relationship with him, a relationship that had been mixed with exploitation and coercion from the very beginning, because its beginning had never been pure.
If they could start over, starting as friends, then he could properly maintain a long-lasting relationship with Zhou Shirui.
Perhaps, Le Cheng thought, Tan Xiaobai’s blessing for him last time had truly settled into his heart without him realizing it. A long and lasting relationship?
It was just that… Le Cheng lay on his bed with his eyes wide open. He actually wasn’t very sure about Zhou Shirui’s attitude.
He still had to find a way to figure it out.
The next day, Xu Yuan kept his promise and agreed to take everyone out for a meal.
They chose a restaurant they often went to. Xu Yuan made a grand gesture and put down the menu. “Everyone, order whatever you want. I’m treating today!”
“You said it.” Chu Yao raised her eyebrows. “Don’t pretend you need to go to the bathroom when it’s time to pay.”
“What are you talking about? Do I look like the kind of person who dines and dashes?” Xu Yuan spread his hands.
“September 23rd last year, at four in the afternoon, right here.” Chu Yao recited with perfect accuracy. “You pretended WeChat wouldn’t open and that you had no money in Alipay, then perfectly escaped the bill.”
Xu Yuan: “…………”
“No wonder you got into this school with twenty more points than me on the college entrance exam,” Xu Yuan said. “Your memory really is good, huh.”
The group began bickering. Le Cheng took the opportunity to glance at his phone.
Zhou Shirui had sent him a message half an hour earlier.
[Client Senior Zhou: Are you free tonight?]
[Client Senior Zhou: Some people from the studio invited me to dinner. Do you want to come?]
“Le Cheng,” Xu Yuan asked him, “have you ordered yet?”
“Huh? No.” Le Cheng shook his head. “You guys order. I’m not picky.”
“Alright then.”
He replied to Zhou Shirui.
[Orange: What time tonight?]
[Client Senior Zhou: Eight.]
Le Cheng looked at the time. It was already past seven.
They probably wouldn’t just be eating; they would likely go out and do something afterward too. He wouldn’t make it in time.
[Orange: I’m afraid I won’t make it. Xu Yuan and the others might be going out afterward.]
[Client Senior Zhou: Okay.]
[Client Senior Zhou: Don’t drink too much.]
[Orange: Don’t worry, I won’t get drunk!]
The dishes were quickly brought to the table. Le Cheng focused wholeheartedly on eating, while his phone on the table occasionally chimed.
Only after he had finally struggled through eating the crayfish and wiped his hands clean did he open the screen.
19:50
[Client Senior Zhou: Heading out.]
20:00
[Client Senior Zhou: Already in the car.]
20:20
[Client Senior Zhou: Arrived.]
20:25
[Client Senior Zhou: What are you doing?]
20:26
[Client Senior Zhou: Still eating?]
Le Cheng looked at the messages, thought for a moment, and gave a simple reply.
[Orange: Mm-hm, enjoying my meal.]
Meanwhile.
Zhou Shirui lounged on the sofa, his long legs casually spread apart, lowering his eyes to look at the message that had popped up on his screen.
He frowned slightly.
Wei Fangyuan, who was sitting closest to him, casually glanced over and asked, “What’s wrong, bro?”
“Nothing.” Zhou Shirui pursed his lips. Why wasn’t Le Cheng checking up on him?
“Hey, it’s not often that we get together, and you’re still playing on your phone.” Sheng Ye took a sip of beer. As if thinking of something, he gave him a sideways grin. “Brother Rui, does little sister-in-law want us to take a photo for her to check up on you today?”
His teasing was obvious, and the others all laughed.
It was originally just a joke to liven up the atmosphere. They usually teased each other like this, and Zhou Shirui would normally only reward them with a “F*ck off.”
But this time, Zhou Shirui behaved unusually. He lifted his eyelids without much expression, his voice flat. “Is that funny?”
“Uh…?” Sheng Ye was a little confused. He blinked and silently mouthed toward Wei Fangyuan, who was sitting closest to Zhou Shirui, “What’s wrong?”
Wei Fangyuan spread his hands and shook his head.
Qian Lin shook his head as well.
Wei Fangyuan tried to smooth things over. “What do you mean, checking up? Is Brother Rui the kind of person who gets checked up on? Right? Hahahahaha…”
“Ding-dong, ”
[Client Senior Zhou: Why don’t you ask how many people there are?]
Le Cheng was still drinking soda. He hadn’t ordered any alcohol. Looking down and seeing this message, he didn’t react for a moment.
Huh?
Was this… him asking why he wasn’t checking up on him?
Le Cheng didn’t quite understand, because he had deliberately chosen not to check up on him.
He had already decided to talk everything out, so it should be fine if he didn’t check up on him anymore.
Before this, he hadn’t actually had a habit of checking up on Zhou Shirui either. Every time he asked Zhou Shirui what he was doing, he was only maintaining his persona.
The persona of a spoiled, clingy little troublemaker.
Le Cheng stared at the message and thought for a moment, arriving at a conclusion, Zhou Shirui had probably gotten used to being checked up on by him.
That was normal too. It was like someone saying good morning to you every day, and then suddenly one day, they stopped. You would definitely find it strange.
Le Cheng tapped at the screen.
[Orange: Ah, I forgot!]
[Orange: Then hurry up and show me. How many people are there, how many guys and girls? Take a photo of everyone holding up three fingers.]
At the exact moment the message was sent, Wei Fangyuan saw Zhou Shirui suddenly raise his hand and hold up three fingers before taking a photo.
He was stunned for a second. His peripheral vision unconsciously drifted over, and Zhou Shirui’s originally cold expression suddenly softened. The photo he had just taken was sent into a WeChat chat.
…Could he be sending it to Le Cheng?
He hadn’t turned off the camera sound, so naturally, the others noticed as well.
Sheng Ye, being straightforward, blurted out, “Why are you taking a photo? Don’t tell me little sister-in-law is checking up on you again?”
Only after saying it did he feel a little regretful.
He had just been sarcastically shut down. Wasn’t he basically walking right into the line of fire again…
“Mm.” Yet Zhou Shirui admitted it with unusual generosity, his expression calm, as if it were nothing much. “He forgot just now.”
Sheng Ye: “…”
Qian Lin: “…”
Wei Fangyuan: “…”
Were their brains broken? Why did they hear the faintest hint of bragging in his tone???
Le Cheng saw the message Zhou Shirui had sent and, returning the gesture, raised his camera and made a peace sign.
“Click.”
He took a photo.
[Orange: Image.jpg]
[Orange: Letting you see too. They’re all familiar faces.]
Zhou Shirui paused slightly and opened the picture. Le Cheng had taken it from the side, occupying one-third of the photo himself. The background was somewhat out of focus and difficult to see clearly, but Zhou Shirui could still make out that they were all members of the club. Lin He wasn’t there.
Zhou Shirui gently swiped and enlarged the photo until only that one-third remained, quietly staring at it for a while.
By the time the meal ended, it was even later than Le Cheng had expected. It was already nearly nine o’clock. As expected, Xu Yuan and the others were going to go singing, but Le Cheng was completely stuffed and directly declined.
“Alright.” Chu Yao asked, “Then how are you getting back? Taking a taxi?”
Le Cheng hesitated for a moment when his phone rang.
It was Zhou Shirui.
“Hello?” He answered.
“Where are you?” Zhou Shirui asked.
“I’ve finished eating.” Le Cheng replied. “I’m about to head back to school.”
“I’ll come pick you up.”
Le Cheng was surprised. “You’re done eating already?”
“Mm.” Zhou Shirui said, “Wait five minutes. I’ll come get you.”
Le Cheng nodded and said okay. After hanging up, he said to Chu Yao, “Zhou Shirui is coming to pick me up.”
“Oh my.” Chu Yao smiled. “Alright, alright. Then we won’t stand here and be third wheels. We’re leaving.”
Le Cheng said goodbye to them.
He stood outside the restaurant, but after less than two minutes, he was already starting to feel tired. The evening breeze was very gentle as it brushed against his cheeks.
When Zhou Shirui got out of the car, he didn’t notice Le Cheng right away.
His gaze swept around before he finally noticed a curled-up figure beneath the storefront. Moonlight stretched the shadow long. He walked over and saw Le Cheng squatting on the ground. Hearing the movement, Le Cheng raised his face.
A pair of very bright eyes, clear, almost magical. No matter how many times Zhou Shirui looked at them, he would always think the same thing in his heart.
“Zhou Shirui.” Le Cheng blinked his big eyes, his voice lazy. “You went over time. By one minute.”
“Mm.” Zhou Shirui lowered his eyes to meet his gaze. “Sorry.”
“I’m going to punish you,” Le Cheng said.
“Punish me?” Zhou Shirui’s expression didn’t change. “How are you going to punish me?”
“Punish you…” Le Cheng held out a hand toward him. “I’ll punish you by making you pull me up!”
His voice was soft. “Zhou Shirui, my legs have gone numb…”
His tone was lazy, the ending light and lilting, as though he were acting spoiled.
It inevitably made Zhou Shirui think of the cats on campus. When they acted spoiled with someone, they would first rub themselves back and forth against your pant leg, and when you reached out to pick them up, their two little paws would stretch out.
Just like Le Cheng now.
Zhou Shirui lightly curved his lips. “Okay.”
“Punish me.” Zhou Shirui slipped his arms under Le Cheng’s armpits, practically lifting him into his arms. His low voice was close to his ear. “Punish me by making me carry you up.”
Le Cheng naturally leaned crookedly against him. His legs had no strength, so his arms tightly hooked around Zhou Shirui’s neck instead.
His cheek rested against Zhou Shirui’s shoulder as he complained softly, “Zhou Shirui, it’s so numb.”
Zhou Shirui said, “I’ll massage them for you.”
“Don’t!” Le Cheng said. “…That’ll feel even worse. Just let me lean on you for a while…”
He really was delicate, somewhat like a child who was afraid of pain. Zhou Shirui seemed a little helpless as he held his waist and quietly embraced him.
After standing for a few minutes, Le Cheng’s legs were no longer quite so numb. He stomped his feet a few times before struggling slightly. Zhou Shirui let him go. “Feeling better?”
“Mm.” Le Cheng tilted his head. Under the moonlight, looking into Zhou Shirui’s pitch-black eyes, he suddenly said, “Zhou Shirui, you’re really nice.”
“Mm?” Zhou Shirui was a little confused.
“Zhou Shirui.” Le Cheng didn’t blink. “Have you… have you ever thought of me as a friend?”
A friend? Zhou Shirui thought about it for a moment, without much hesitation. “Mm.”
Looking at Le Cheng’s face, he greedily thought that whether as a friend or a boyfriend… he wanted to be both.
“Really?” Le Cheng seemed to let out a breath of relief. “That’s great.”
“Zhou Shirui… that’s great.” Le Cheng said it like that.
As though something he had been anxious about all along had suddenly settled into place.
“Mm.” Zhou Shirui nodded. “Are you happy?”
“I am!” Le Cheng’s eyes curved.
Something stirred in Zhou Shirui’s heart, and he reached out to brush aside Le Cheng’s bangs. “I’m happy too. Are we going back?”
Le Cheng hurriedly said, “Yes.”
***
The next day, Le Cheng was invited by Xu Yuan to host an arts gala.
The gala was mainly for visiting leaders who had come to inspect the school. There weren’t many students seated below, and attendance wasn’t mandatory.
Because he had performed so well last time, it wasn’t that his hosting skills were particularly outstanding. Mainly, he was good-looking and well-proportioned, and his appearance was simply too eye-catching. The people above had specifically requested him to host.
The script was extremely simple, the kind that could be memorized after reading it twice.
Le Cheng thought, credits were credits, the more he earned, the better. So that evening, after getting himself ready, he arrived backstage.
The game developed by Zhou Shirui’s studio was about to launch, and he had been so busy that he often pulled all-nighters. Le Cheng hadn’t asked him to come.
“Ding-dong—”
[Client Party Senior Zhou: Are you about to go on stage?]
“Le Cheng.” Someone called to him from the doorway. “Come over for a moment. Let’s go over the script again.”
“Ah, okay.” Le Cheng didn’t have time to reply. He grabbed the script and hurried outside.
He was walking in a rush when someone suddenly came toward him, apparently looking down at their phone. The corridor was narrow, and Le Cheng immediately moved aside to avoid them, but they still collided.
“Bang—”
His chest instantly felt cold. A drink had spilled over him. The person was startled and looked flustered. “Sorry, sorry, sorry, I didn’t see you…”
Tissues were handed over. Le Cheng quickly lowered his head and wiped himself off, instinctively replying, “It’s okay, it’s okay…”
His suit was completely soaked. Even without a mirror, he knew he must look terrible. The person said, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. How about I add you as a contact? You can see how you want to handle this afterward, and contact me?”
Le Cheng sucked in a breath and let the person scan his contact information. He truly didn’t have time to deal with compensation right now, so he quickly headed toward the changing room at the back of the auditorium.
The changing room was very small and empty. Le Cheng casually pushed open one of the rooms and slipped inside.
He checked the time. There were only twenty minutes left before he had to go on stage. He couldn’t go up looking like this, he had to change into another outfit.
He had more than one set of formal clothes, but they were all in his dorm.
Their school wasn’t small. It would take half an hour to walk from the auditorium to the dormitory building, or nearly ten minutes by bike. It was impossible to go back now. Tan Xiaobai and He Ziqing were both sitting in the audience out front, so he couldn’t count on them either.
He first messaged Tan Xiaobai to confirm where he was.
[Orange: Xiaobai, where are you?]
[Little White Rabbit White and White: I’m in the audience. Is it about to start? Ziqing and I are both waiting. When you go on stage later, we’ll definitely clap our hands off!]
Seeing the message, Le Cheng found that it was just as he had expected. Afterward, he thought for a moment and called Zhou Shirui. The call was answered after two rings.
Zhou Shirui’s steady voice came through the phone. “Le Cheng.”
Le Cheng spoke very quickly. “Where are you? Right now, right now my clothes are wet and really dirty. There’s no way I can go on stage, but the gala is about to start. I want to change clothes…”
“Okay.” Zhou Shirui’s voice was low. “Do you want me to bring you some clothes?”
That calm, steady tone briefly soothed Le Cheng’s anxious heart. He nodded, then remembered that Zhou Shirui couldn’t see him and hurriedly said, “In my dorm, the third locker is mine. There are clothes hanging inside. I want that black suit.”
“But…” Le Cheng paused. “The key…”
“The dorm manager will have one. Don’t worry.” Zhou Shirui said. “Is that all? Where are you now?”
“I’m in the changing room behind the auditorium.” Le Cheng thought for a moment. “I think it’s the second one.”
“Okay.” Zhou Shirui said. The sound of wind came through the phone. “I’ll be there within ten minutes.”
Ten minutes? Le Cheng was a little stunned. “…Okay, I’ll wait for you.”
Still worried, he added, “You don’t have to rush too much. Be careful when you ride.”
The call ended, and Le Cheng’s wildly pounding heart finally settled a little.
He knew Zhou Shirui would definitely take care of it.
He took a deep breath and lowered his head to inspect himself again. There was a large stain on his white shirt, it was fruit juice. Since his suit jacket and pants were black, the stains weren’t obvious, but they were dirty too, leaving a sticky, unpleasant feeling. Le Cheng reached out and tugged at them.
After standing there for a while, he took off his jacket first.
Zhou Shirui was very punctual. Almost exactly ten minutes later, he knocked on the door.
Le Cheng was startled and immediately went over to open it. Zhou Shirui slipped inside, grabbed his wrist, and closed the door behind him.
Only then did Le Cheng get a good look at him. Rather unusually, he was wearing a black baseball cap that covered nearly half his face. He wasn’t wearing his glasses, and the lines of his profile were sharp and deep. Zhou Shirui held his wrist and led him farther inside. The moment Le Cheng turned back, long fingers hooked around his tie.
“Mm…?” Le Cheng hadn’t reacted yet. Zhou Shirui was half a head taller than him. When he bent down slightly, because of the cap, only part of his chin and his lightly pressed thin lips could be seen.
Zhou Shirui had already completely pulled off his tie and tossed it aside. “Is there still enough time? Why didn’t you take it off earlier?”
Le Cheng froze at the question. Take it off earlier, he hadn’t not thought of it. It was just that when he remembered Zhou Shirui would be coming in, he inexplicably felt a little embarrassed.
The first button of his shirt was undone as well. Le Cheng’s heart began pounding. They were so close. A strange feeling made his fingers tremble, but this wasn’t the time to be self-conscious. He followed Zhou Shirui in undoing the buttons at the hem of his shirt. Both pairs of hands moved at the same time, and very quickly, the shirt was completely unbuttoned.
Le Cheng’s skin was very fair, with a delicate softness to it. There wasn’t an ounce of excess fat around his waist and abdomen; it was narrow and beautiful, with a hint of pink faintly visible through the partially open shirt. Zhou Shirui’s fingertips paused slightly. The cold air against his skin made Le Cheng shiver, and even the tips of his ears turned red. He immediately wanted to turn around and take it off, but then suddenly remembered that he was wearing shirt clips.
That’s right, shirt clips.
The auditorium’s changing room was rudimentary, since basically no one ever changed clothes there. There were only a few scattered stools. Le Cheng took a deep breath and, suppressing the inexplicable embarrassment, quickly lowered his head and took off his pants, revealing the shirt clips fastened to his shirt.
Black, like two garters, tightly encircling his slender, pale thighs and pressing slightly into the soft flesh.
Because Zhou Shirui was standing in front of him, Le Cheng’s nervous heart felt as though it were about to leap out of his chest. He lowered his head and pulled at the clips attached to his shirt. Whether because he was too flustered or because they were simply very good quality, a few of them wouldn’t come off.
He became aware of Zhou Shirui’s gaze.
Direct and fixed, as though it had a temperature, making him feel almost burned by it.
His movements became even more frantic. Just as he decided to stop hesitating and use brute force, Zhou Shirui had already stepped closer.
One hand clasped his wrist while the other slowly reached down toward the hem of his shirt.
“Le Cheng.” His low voice was almost against his ear, warm breath brushing over the side of his neck. Le Cheng shivered and, like a small animal, let out a soft sound through his nose. “Mm?”
“I’ll help you.” Zhou Shirui pressed a hand against his shoulder and pushed him down onto the stool. His long fingers seemed to brush against Le Cheng’s thigh, only very briefly, before withdrawing.
“Wet.” He calmly stated the fact.
Le Cheng’s mind went blank. It took him almost several seconds to realize that Zhou Shirui was talking about the shirt stays.
Le Cheng’s cheeks turned completely red. “Mm… i-is that so…”
“Mm. You need to take them off.” Zhou Shirui lowered his lashes. “They’ll dirty the new pants.”
“Okay.” Le Cheng, dazed and muddled, obediently followed his instructions, but his mind was still in chaos. He began to doubt his decision to ask Zhou Shirui to bring him clothes. His fingers trembled as he struggled to undo them, so Zhou Shirui quickly reached over and pulled off the clips. Then he said, “Put it up.”
“What?”
“Your leg.” Zhou Shirui sat facing him. “Put it up.”
This position really was awkward. Was Zhou Shirui going to help him take them off?
…Well, in such an urgent situation, there was nothing wrong with getting a little help, right?
Le Cheng’s face was so red it seemed as though he might burst into flames. He pressed his lips together, hesitated, then placed his foot on Zhou Shirui’s knee.
His snow-white skin formed a stark contrast against the black pants. Zhou Shirui appeared very calm as his long index finger hooked around the shirt clip strapped to Le Cheng’s leg. The warm, slightly rough sensation startled Le Cheng, making him jerk his leg.
He didn’t know where he had kicked, but Zhou Shirui swiftly grabbed his slender ankle.
“Le Cheng.” Zhou Shirui’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He drew in a breath, his grip restrained but firm, his voice so low it sounded almost fierce. “Chengcheng… don’t move around.”
