Shoutout to Kari for the commission!
The sun had just begun to rise, and faint light passed through the curtains, outlining the person on the bed with a hazy, blurred halo of warm light.
Le Cheng opened his eyes in the darkness, his long eyelashes trembling lightly. The pain from his hangover made the nerves at his temples throb faintly.
After resting for quite a while, he finally adjusted to the pain, but he was still dizzy. He frowned slightly. Just as he was about to turn over, he suddenly noticed that a long arm was lying across his waist. Even in the dim surroundings, he could make out the beautiful contours of its muscles. The large hand was relaxed, its fingertips hanging down, lightly curled over his abdomen.
Le Cheng froze for two seconds as his memories flooded into his mind like fragments.
They were a complete mess. He had almost forgotten everything, as though he had blacked out. He only remembered that Zhou Shirui seemed to have helped him squeeze toothpaste, and then said something else? He couldn’t remember. It seemed like he had been talking to himself, asking Zhou Shirui to sleep with him?
That was already absurd enough, but what was even more absurd was that Zhou Shirui had actually stayed and slept with him.
An indescribable feeling welled up in his heart, making it beat happily against his chest even in the quiet morning.
Le Cheng stiffened, not knowing how to react. After lying there for a while, he slightly turned his head, wanting to look at Zhou Shirui.
But before he could succeed, he heard a voice by his ear, still slightly hoarse from just waking up: “…Hm? You’re awake?”
Le Cheng’s face instantly turned red. He stammered, “Y-Yeah, I’m awake.”
“Does your head hurt?” As Zhou Shirui spoke, the side of his face seemed to bury itself into the top of Le Cheng’s hair and nuzzle against it, making his voice muffled.
“A little…” Le Cheng didn’t work out. He was thinner than Zhou Shirui, and his frame was smaller. Being completely enclosed in his arms like this made him feel unnatural. His face grew even hotter, and he felt like even his forehead was about to start sweating.
The hand Zhou Shirui had around his waist naturally moved upward, as if feeling his stomach. “Are you hungry?”
Le Cheng shuddered at the touch. There hadn’t actually been any direct contact, they were separated by clothing, but he still felt embarrassed. But Zhou Shirui was being so natural about it that it gave him the feeling that there was absolutely nothing wrong with doing this.
“Hungry…” Le Cheng answered. Only then did he feel the person behind him move away a little. The warmth against his back disappeared as Zhou Shirui got up and said softly, “Close your eyes first.”
Not understanding why, Le Cheng blanked for a moment, but obediently closed his eyes.
Swish—- Zhou Shirui pulled open the curtains.
The room instantly brightened. Le Cheng kept his eyes closed and took a moment to adjust before slowly opening them. He saw Zhou Shirui hand him a glass of water. “Moisten your throat.”
“Okay.” Le Cheng took it and drank a couple of sips. As if to ease the awkwardness, he changed the subject. “Where are they?”
Zhou Shirui understood who “they” referred to. “Sleeping in the other rooms. They probably aren’t awake yet.”
Le Cheng relaxed a little. “Oh…”
He had just woken up and his brain hadn’t fully booted up yet. Zhou Shirui lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on Le Cheng’s slightly puffed-up cheek, tinged with a layer of pink. His thick, long eyelashes hung low. His collar was loose and wide, exposing a patch of snowy white, soft skin. He had his head lowered, and there was still a small red mark on the back of his neck, the one Zhou Shirui had left last night when he couldn’t resist kissing him.
It made Le Cheng look so harmless, giving Zhou Shirui the illusion that they had already lived together in this room for a long time, that this was simply an ordinary morning, and that Le Cheng had ordinarily woken up from his arms.
Zhou Shirui’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He walked closer and reached out to touch Le Cheng’s face.
Le Cheng looked up at him somewhat questioningly.
“…” Zhou Shirui said, “Go wash up.”
“Okay.” Le Cheng hopped out of bed and obediently agreed. He had already successfully convinced himself, and his heartbeat gradually calmed down. They had only slept while hugging each other, after all. That was completely normal. Besides, Zhou Shirui, a former homophobe, hadn’t shown any reaction at all. He definitely couldn’t make a big fuss over it, or wouldn’t that make him seem overly dramatic?
Le Cheng shuffled out in his slippers, pattering along. By the time he had finished washing up, Qian Lin and the others finally came out of their rooms, yawning nonstop.
“F*ck… I’m exhausted…”
“My head hurts.” Sheng Ye half-squinted. “It hurts so bad. How much did I even drink yesterday?”
“Just three bottles of beer.” Qian Lin didn’t look much better himself, but he still didn’t forget to mock him. “From now on, you sit at the kids’ table.”
“F*ck off.” Sheng Ye was displeased and pointed at him. “Find me a kid who can drink less than I can.”
Qian Lin said, “I really can find one.”
“Stop arguing… Bro, what are you doing?” Wei Fangyuan greeted Le Cheng first, then yawned as he walked into the kitchen. “You’re actually cooking? That’s great. I just woke up and I already get to eat…”
Although Zhou Shirui’s cooking skills weren’t particularly impressive either, he was at the level where, if he followed a recipe, the food would at least be edible, the three of them were even worse cooks than Zhou Shirui. If they served up something they had made, even a dog that tasted it would have to get up and stay awake all night to cook three dishes.
Le Cheng walked into the kitchen, wanting to see if he could help. At that moment, Zhou Shirui handed him a cup of something. “Drink it.”
Le Cheng asked, “Hm? What is it?”
“For relieving headaches and sobering up.” Zhou Shirui stared at him.
“Oh…” Le Cheng obediently drank it all. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Zhou Shirui’s calm profile and suddenly thought of something.
He had no idea how much he’d drunk during the latter half of last night. He couldn’t even remember the part where they were eating. So how much had Zhou Shirui drunk? He looked pretty normal. He’d said before that he couldn’t hold his liquor, so he probably hadn’t had many drinks, right?
After drinking the hangover remedy, Le Cheng checked the time. It was eight-thirty in the morning, and half an hour had already passed since he woke up. It was Sunday, and none of them had classes, so there was no need to rush.
After eating, the group curled up in the study and played games for a while before finally leaving the house.
In just two days, as the game’s popularity rose, some people began livestreaming gameplay. The small details in the game were analyzed, and its exquisite art style was also widely praised. But what received the most praise was the CG that appeared at the end. People flooded the comments under Zhou Shirui’s studio’s Weibo, asking which artist had created it.
Zhou Shirui didn’t hide anything and wanted to make it public. Le Cheng suddenly remembered that there were still several pieces of fan art featuring a male model CP on his Weibo. His head immediately began spinning, and he was so embarrassed that he hurriedly hid them.
If Zhou Shirui saw those, he’d be able to dig himself straight into the ground.
Thinking this, he decided to go all the way. He hid the videos on Douyin as well, planning to wait until this wave of attention passed before making them visible again. After all, Zhou Shirui knew his social media accounts and would definitely be curious enough to browse through his work. Once the novelty wore off and Zhou Shirui stopped looking, everything would be fine.
The consequence of doing this was that people began asking him in his private messages and comments what had happened and why he had hidden so many of his works. Le Cheng only replied to the private messages and didn’t dare respond to the comments, afraid Zhou Shirui would figure out who the “male model CP” was referring to.
After cleaning up all his posts, Le Cheng confidently told Zhou Shirui his social media account.
“It’s this one, ‘Stealing Hearts, Runaway Guoli Orange.’” Le Cheng gave a guilty cough. “But don’t follow me. I don’t like being followed by people I know.”
Zhou Shirui lowered his head and looked at the account on his phone. But when he raised his eyes again, his expression had become a little strange.
“What’s wrong?” Le Cheng’s heart began pounding. Could it be that there were still a few he hadn’t hidden?? Had he missed some??
“Nothing.” Zhou Shirui merely pressed his lips together and didn’t say anything.
This frightened Le Cheng into quickly pretending not to care as he went through all his Douyin videos and Weibo posts again.
There was nothing.
Everything was completely clean.
Le Cheng was a little suspicious, but he still breathed a sigh of relief.
After Zhou Shirui’s studio revealed who the artist was, Le Cheng quickly gained tens of thousands of followers, and the number of people messaging him for commissions increased severalfold.
Le Cheng accepted a few. Afraid he wouldn’t be able to finish them all, he politely declined the rest. After all, things were different now. He no longer needed to rush to pay back money, so there was no need to push himself as hard as he had in the past.
Besides, he now had another, more important matter.
He needed to make things clear with Zhou Shirui.
Le Cheng didn’t want to use words like “breaking up” to describe their relationship. It made it seem as though they really would be breaking apart.
Now that everything had settled down, this was the best time to come clean.
Looking at the canvas in front of him, Le Cheng felt a little troubled.
Making things clear, changing the nature of their relationship, yet not damaging the relationship, it was quite a test.
As he thought about it, Zhou Shirui didn’t know what his intentions had been in the beginning, nor did he know what kind of feelings he had. He had even confessed to Zhou Shirui before. Therefore, he first had to completely clear away this whole matter of “liking Zhou Shirui,” so that Zhou Shirui could feel at ease and accept being friends with him from the bottom of his heart.
After all, according to normal logic, not everyone could remain close with an ex without any reservations, especially when that ex had once “liked” them very much.
Only if he no longer liked him, acted carefree, and gave no hint of anything unusual, making everything seem reasonable and natural, would Zhou Shirui naturally accept him and be friends with him.
Le Cheng thought about what he should say. How could he make things clear while also taking the blame onto himself? After all, Zhou Shirui had taken the blame so many times already. It wouldn’t hurt for him to take it once.
Le Cheng decided to search online.
[How do I gracefully break up with my boyfriend?]
No, that’s not right.
[How do I stay friends with my ex-boyfriend?]
No, no.
[How do I break up so that I can stay friends with my ex-boyfriend?]
This was the one.
Le Cheng looked at the sentence with satisfaction and clicked search. There really were people asking the same question. Le Cheng carefully read through the answers, took out his little notebook, and wrote down all the suggested lines.
Once he had mastered what to say, it was time to put it into practice.
Afraid that he would get nervous, Le Cheng simply decided to communicate everything with Zhou Shirui over WeChat.
He tapped at the screen and typed:
[Orange: Are you busy?]
The moment he sent it, his heart was already pounding wildly inside his chest, making him flustered. He hurriedly turned his phone face-down and sat upright.
Ding-dong,
A notification sounded.
Le Cheng’s fingers trembled slightly. He took a deep breath before turning his phone over and looking down,
It was a spam text message.
Le Cheng: “…”
Frowning, he blocked the number. Then, suddenly, Zhou Shirui’s message popped up before his eyes.
[Zhou Shirui: What’s wrong?]
Even though they weren’t face-to-face, Le Cheng still felt nervous.
[Orange: I want… to tell you something.]
Ding-dong,
[Zhou Shirui: What is it?]
[Orange: Well, do you remember that we’ve been together for almost half a year now?]
[Zhou Shirui: So?]
Le Cheng took a deep breath and rapidly typed on his phone: So, I was thinking that the agreement has already ended…
Bang—!
The next second, the dormitory door was suddenly kicked open.
Le Cheng jumped in fright, nearly sending his phone flying. He hurriedly turned his head as Tan Xiaobai’s voice reached his ears. “Hurry, hurry, hurry! Le Cheng, come help me! It’s too heavy! I can’t carry it, I can’t carry it anymore…!”
Before his brain could even react, his body was already moving. He stood up and took the box at the top of Tan Xiaobai’s stack. It was so heavy that he sank downward under its weight. “So heavy…! What did you buy?”
“Fruit my mom sent me.” Tan Xiaobai was panting heavily. He had carried three huge boxes of fruit upstairs by himself and was practically exhausted. “Oh my god, I almost died young…”
Le Cheng put down the box of fruit. Tan Xiaobai continued chattering beside him. Le Cheng had just caught his breath and was about to tease him when he suddenly remembered something,
His message!
Le Cheng quickly grabbed his phone and looked down. The unfinished message was still sitting in the chat box. It hadn’t been sent.
[Zhou Shirui: Why did you stop talking?]
[Zhou Shirui: ?]
[Zhou Shirui: Busy?]
[Zhou Shirui: Le Cheng,]
[Zhou Shirui: Say something.]
Le Cheng stared at the chat box for a few seconds and tapped the screen, just about to press send.
Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz—
A call suddenly popped up. Le Cheng was stunned for two seconds, but his finger had already very honestly pressed answer.
“Hello?” Le Cheng spoke softly.
“Le Cheng.” Zhou Shirui’s voice sounded slightly breathless, but also somewhat cold. “Why didn’t you reply to my messages?”
“Xiaobai suddenly called me over to help him with something…” Le Cheng lowered his eyelashes, his voice soft, almost like he was acting cute. “I forgot…”
“I was just about to reply when you called,” Le Cheng added.
“Mm.” Zhou Shirui asked, “Then what was the message you were going to send?”
“Ah… that.” Le Cheng’s heart, which had only just calmed down, began racing again. His palms unconsciously started to sweat. The words he had prepared got stuck in his throat, making him swallow repeatedly. The little bit of courage he had managed to gather was completely used up at this moment.
Le Cheng closed his eyes. “It’s just… it’s been half a year. Shouldn’t we celebrate our anniversary or something?”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. “That’s what it was?”
“Mm, yeah!” Le Cheng pretended to sound relaxed. “Have you eaten? Let’s go out and eat first.”
“No.” Zhou Shirui said lightly, “Then come downstairs. I’ll wait for you.”
“Okay.”
After hanging up, Le Cheng hurriedly wiped his palms with a tissue. Tan Xiaobai looked at him, somewhat puzzled. “What’s wrong? Is it that hot?”
“No.” Le Cheng shook his head.
Did he have any idea how nervous he had just been?!
He couldn’t say it over WeChat, and he didn’t have the courage to say it over the phone either. After thinking for a moment, Le Cheng decided— he would say it face-to-face.
Not only would that be more sincere, but he would also be able to explain everything clearly. There were plenty of advantages.
With that in mind, Le Cheng quickly put on his jacket and went downstairs.
Zhou Shirui was waiting downstairs. Le Cheng walked up to him. “Let’s go. Shall we go eat?”
“Mm.” Zhou Shirui nodded, then looked at him. “The anniversary…”
“Oh, that!” Le Cheng quickly interrupted him. “Can I take care of this one? You’ve already treated me to so many meals, so let me handle this time, okay?”
Zhou Shirui’s gaze fell on Le Cheng’s face. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “…Okay.”
After they returned from eating, Le Cheng went online and did some research.
It wasn’t that he meant anything else by it. He had just suddenly remembered that the last few times he had thought Zhou Shirui was going to break up with him, Zhou Shirui had taken him out to eat. So this time, he wanted to do the same.
It would make things feel more formal.
After choosing a restaurant, Le Cheng sent the location to Zhou Shirui.
[Orange: This place. Our anniversary is on Friday, so shall we go on Friday?]
Zhou Shirui replied quite quickly.
[Okay.]
***
Friday, six in the evening. Le Cheng changed into a different outfit and went to the restaurant with Zhou Shirui.
After entering, Le Cheng gave his name, and a waiter smiled and led them to their private room. Zhou Shirui followed behind him. At that moment, Le Cheng felt somewhat dazed, as though their roles had been reversed.
They took the elevator to the highest floor. After exiting the elevator, there were another two steps. Le Cheng was so nervous that he stumbled and nearly fell. Zhou Shirui firmly grabbed his hand and pulled him back. Le Cheng’s nose bumped into his chest, and he caught a faint scent of soap.
Le Cheng froze slightly and lowered his head to look at their interlaced fingers. Suddenly, he didn’t want to pull away.
Le Cheng couldn’t describe how he was feeling. Zhou Shirui lowered his eyes slightly and looked at him. “What’s wrong? Watch where you’re going.”
“I…” Le Cheng looked up and met his gaze. He smiled. “I’m nervous.”
“Nervous about eating?” A faint smile seemed to curl at Zhou Shirui’s lips. “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing.” Le Cheng shook his head. “I was just distracted.”
“Mm.” Zhou Shirui stared at him for a while before finally saying, “Be more careful.”
“I know.” Le Cheng waved his hand. “Let’s go up.”
“Okay.”
They pushed open the door to the top floor. Before them was an enormous floor-to-ceiling window, with countless twinkling lights scattered across the night, allowing them to overlook the entire city’s nighttime scenery.
Even Le Cheng was a little stunned. It had been daytime when he came to book the restaurant, so he hadn’t known that the view from this spot would be so beautiful at night.
Le Cheng led Zhou Shirui to their seats. The waiter soon knocked on the door and brought the dishes to the table. It was Western food. Le Cheng actually didn’t like it that much, but it was more romantic this way.
The lighting in the entire room wasn’t bright; it was even somewhat dim. Soft beige ambient lights cast a gentle and peaceful glow over the two of them. Le Cheng cut off a piece of steak, brought it to his mouth, and carefully tasted it.
Not bad. Tender and juicy, with an excellent texture. It was worthy of the hefty price he had paid.
The meal was somewhat quiet, with only the faint sounds of knives and forks. The final course was dessert. Because Le Cheng was nervous, he was feeling a little warm, and after hesitating, he took off his jacket.
“Hot?” Zhou Shirui looked at him.
“A little.” Le Cheng picked up the red wine beside him and took a small sip. He had the tastes of a child and didn’t actually like red wine either.
After taking a sip, he scrunched up his face. Looking at Zhou Shirui’s glass, which clearly had less wine in it than his, he suddenly remembered something. “Zhou Shirui, you’re not going to get drunk, are you?”
Zhou Shirui paused slightly and raised his eyelids. “Hm?”
“Isn’t your alcohol tolerance…” Le Cheng didn’t want to say it was terrible, so he chose a more tactful expression. “…Pretty average?”
Zhou Shirui didn’t understand why Le Cheng had gotten such an impression of him, but he didn’t refute it. Instead, he asked, “And what if I get drunk?”
If you get drunk, how are the two of us supposed to talk things over?! Le Cheng was anxious inside, but he didn’t show it on his face. After a brief pause, he said, “Anyway, anyway, you’re not allowed to get drunk…”
The way he looked was so vivid, his eyes bright, as though light had fallen upon him. Zhou Shirui stared at him for quite a while before finally agreeing. “Okay.”
He was being far too easygoing about this. Le Cheng unconsciously pinched the fabric of his pants beneath his hand, creating a crease. As though gathering up his courage, he spoke. “Zhou Shirui…”
Bang—!
As soon as the words left his mouth, a huge firework suddenly blossomed before their eyes outside the enormous floor-to-ceiling window.
Le Cheng froze for a moment, then turned his head to look at the beautiful fireworks.
Guests who booked the entire top floor were treated to a fireworks display. Le Cheng had known about it beforehand, but he still couldn’t help having his attention drawn to it.
Even Zhou Shirui looked slightly stunned, which was rare for him.
The fireworks exploded at such a close distance that Le Cheng couldn’t help feeling excited. He turned around and looked happily at Zhou Shirui. “Wow… Zhou Shirui, it’s so beautiful!”
And in the very next second after those words, brilliant fireworks exploded beside them again. Through the window, they illuminated Le Cheng’s face against the dark night, as though countless sparks had all fallen into his eyes.
At that moment, time itself seemed to stand still. Zhou Shirui stared fixedly at him, and only after a long while did he softly say, “Mm… very beautiful.”
Le Cheng was completely unaware. He turned toward Zhou Shirui and held out his hand. “Zhou Shirui, quick, quick, quick.”
Zhou Shirui: “Hm?”
“Give me your phone.” Le Cheng took his phone and smiled at him amid the dazzling fireworks. “Let’s take a picture, okay?”
Without waiting for Zhou Shirui to answer, Le Cheng had already consciously sat down beside him, leaning slightly toward him as he raised the phone. “Zhou Shirui, look at the camera.”
Zhou Shirui lowered his eyes slightly, but looked at him instead.
Le Cheng was using the rear camera and couldn’t tell what the shot looked like, so he asked, “Are you looking at the camera now?”
Zhou Shirui’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Mm.”
“Then let’s do it!”
“Three.”
“Two.”
“One.”
The second before the flash went off, a huge firework rose outside the window. The flickering light illuminated Zhou Shirui’s profile. His long eyelashes lowered, outlining his eyes and brows with a tender gentleness.
Click—
The photo was taken, and Le Cheng hurriedly turned the phone around.
In the picture, he and Zhou Shirui were sitting extremely close together. The fireworks illuminated his dark pupils, making them brilliant like starlight. Yet Zhou Shirui, who had clearly agreed to look at the camera, had turned his eyes slightly to the side, his gaze quietly resting on Le Cheng’s profile.
Le Cheng froze slightly. He looked at Zhou Shirui. “Why were you looking at me?”
“Was I?” Zhou Shirui gazed at him. “Maybe I got caught in the shot at the wrong moment.”
Something stirred in Le Cheng’s heart.
He lowered his head, returned the phone to Zhou Shirui, and then sat back in his own seat.
The fireworks outside were still blooming. Their brilliant light shone across Zhou Shirui’s profile, outlining his long eyelashes and perfect nose.
For a moment, neither of them spoke, but Le Cheng’s heart was pounding wildly.
Zhou Shirui quietly gazed at him when suddenly, he heard Le Cheng softly call his name. “Zhou Shirui.”
Zhou Shirui: “Mm?”
“Today… are you happy?” Le Cheng asked.
Zhou Shirui looked at him without blinking. “Happy.”
“Zhou Shirui.” Le Cheng continued calling his name. “I… I have something to tell you.”
Zhou Shirui didn’t hesitate. “Go ahead.”
“Zhou Shirui.” Amid the fireworks, Le Cheng paused for a moment.
Then, he heard Le Cheng’s voice drift softly into his ears, yet it was like a thunderclap exploding, “Let’s break up.”
Let’s break up.
Three simple words.
A sudden buzzing filled his mind, like bubbles bursting, or like a blow to the head. He couldn’t tell whether what he heard was his heartbeat or the fireworks.
Le Cheng didn’t dare pause. He quickly said, “It’s just, I think… I think you’re a good person, and you’ve been really good to me. It’s not your fault. Our agreement has already expired, so there’s no need to maintain our current relationship anymore. And, and things between us have been progressing too quickly. I still, um, prefer something more platonic, so… let’s break up. After we break up, we can still be friends!”
He stumbled through the words and hurriedly blurted everything out. The final sentence was practically shouted. Le Cheng’s heart felt as though it were about to leap out of his chest. He was nervous, but also a little expectant, staring at Zhou Shirui without even blinking.
Zhou Shirui simply sat there, his back straight, his cold, dark eyes quietly fixed on him. Half of his face was hidden in the darkness, making his expression impossible to read.
“Le Cheng.” After a long while, Zhou Shirui finally moved. His tone was almost unnaturally calm. “Say that again.”
Le Cheng froze. “W-What…”
“I said, say it again.” Zhou Shirui suddenly stared at him sharply.
“It’s just, breaking up…” By now, Le Cheng could already sense that something was unusual about the atmosphere, but the momentum of his thoughts still made him continue. “But after we break up, we can still be friends…”
“Break up?” Zhou Shirui suddenly interrupted him.
His gaze fell directly onto Le Cheng’s face, his voice icy cold as he enunciated each word.
“Le Cheng, you called me here today. Everything you did, don’t tell me…”
He laughed in fury: “…was all for the sake of breaking up with me?”
![The Obsessive Shou Moves On [Rebirth]](https://i1.wp.com/lazygirltranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/download-1.jpeg?resize=151,215 "The Obsessive Shou Moves On [Rebirth]")
