Transmigrated as the Campus Heartthrob’s Cannon Fodder Ex-Boyfriend Chapter 46

Shoutout to Kari for the commission!

His warm breath was like tiny, invisible flames, slowly brushing against his cheek and sending a faint shiver through him.

His chin was firmly held in place. Le Cheng’s eyes widened. There was too much information to process, and his mind, scorched by the heat, had become somewhat sluggish, but he still managed to grasp the key point. “No, no, I’m not with him…”

“Liar.” Zhou Shirui interrupted him somewhat roughly.

“Le Cheng.” Zhou Shirui pressed close to him, lowering his head slightly. He was so close that he almost seemed about to kiss his lips. His breath slowly slid down against his cheek. His dark eyes were cold and deep, his thin lips opening and closing gently. “You’re lying.”

His tone was very cold, but his breath was warm. Le Cheng’s eyes widened slightly, his breathing quickening. For a moment, he had the illusion that Zhou Shirui was going to kiss him.

But it was only an illusion. Zhou Shirui’s lips passed him by, almost brushing against his cheek. Le Cheng grabbed the wrist of the hand holding his jaw and shook his head. “No, I’m not lying. I’m not lying.”

“He’s just a friend of mine.” Le Cheng spoke very quickly, his dark eyes fixed unblinkingly on him. “A member of our club. He’s not my boyfriend, and I also don’t…”

He couldn’t explain that line about Plato. Who would believe such a ridiculous reason? If Zhou Shirui hadn’t suddenly brought it up in this situation, he would have forgotten what he had blurted out in his panic when they broke up.

“I’ve met everyone in your club.” Zhou Shirui stared coldly at him, his expression unchanged. “I haven’t met him.”

This situation was actually very strange. An ex-boyfriend who had already broken up with you suddenly forced you into a restroom and demanded that you explain yourself, as if he were the official boyfriend who was currently jealous.

But in such a bizarre scene, Le Cheng had no attention to spare for anything else. His heart pounded hard inside his chest, and his eyelashes trembled. “He was newly recruited…”

“Le Cheng—-!”

“Le Cheng—-?”

“Le Cheng, where are you?”

A sudden voice reached his ears, interrupting his words. Le Cheng immediately fell silent in fright, while Zhou Shirui turned his head impatiently.

The voice was clear and crisp, echoing through the empty hall like a clap of thunder. It washed away the explosive, pounding impulse surging through his blood and diluted the wavering, ambiguous atmosphere, forcibly bringing reason back. It was also at that moment that Zhou Shirui breathed heavily. Only then did he belatedly let go and furrow his brows.

…What had he just done?

Kidnapped his ex-boyfriend?

“It’s Zhuo Qingyuan.” Le Cheng didn’t notice the change in him and immediately whispered, “He came to look for me.”

Hearing this, Zhou Shirui lowered his head and looked at him expressionlessly. “Zhuo Qingyuan?”

“Mm.” Le Cheng nodded slightly, then frowned, anxiously whispering, “W-we… how are we supposed to get out like this?”

“What?” Zhou Shirui stared at him, his tone calm, the corner of his lips curling slightly as if in mockery. “Afraid he’ll see?”

Although he had already heard the explanation clearly, his barely calmed rationality still couldn’t help using harsher words to question him.

“No.” Le Cheng scrunched up his face. “I’m not afraid of him seeing.”

Alone with his ex-boyfriend for no apparent reason in such a small stall, his clothes disheveled and finger marks still on his face, what would other people think if they saw them? Zhou Shirui took a deep breath. He understood all the reasons perfectly. Reaching out, he straightened Le Cheng’s collar, closed his eyes, and said as calmly as possible, “You go out first.”

“Le Cheng, why are you taking so long in the bathroom…”

Zhuo Qingyuan’s voice continued outside, followed by the sound of a door closing. It seemed that he had entered the stall next to theirs. “We were thinking of going singing. Do you want to come?”

Le Cheng didn’t dare say anything more. Although he still had many things he wanted to say, he had to leave. Before going, however, he still couldn’t control himself and tugged lightly on Zhou Shirui’s arm. He silently mouthed: Why did you come looking for me today…

“Click—”

But Zhou Shirui suddenly turned around, released the lock, grabbed his shoulder, and pushed him out.

“Le Cheng?” Hearing the movement, Zhuo Qingyuan sounded somewhat surprised. “Are you next door to me?”

“Huh? …No.” Le Cheng quickly pulled the middle stall door shut, making a “Bang!” “I’m, I’m in the middle one. I just came out.”

“Oh.” Zhuo Qingyuan had already come out and started washing his hands. He inadvertently caught sight of Le Cheng’s face. “Hey, there’s a little red patch here on your face. What happened?”

There was a huge mirror in front of the sinks. As Le Cheng washed his hands, he hurriedly glanced at it. There really was a red patch. There was one on both sides of his cheeks, though they weren’t very noticeable. He vigorously rubbed them with cold water, lowered his eyelashes, his mind in complete turmoil, and vaguely said, “I accidentally scratched myself just now…”

“Heh.” Zhuo Qingyuan laughed. “You scratched yourself so artistically? And symmetrically, too.”

Le Cheng’s face burned at those words. He shook the water off his hands, wanting to leave quickly so Zhou Shirui could come out. “Alright, let’s go. What were you saying you wanted to do?”

“Go singing. We came all the way out here to have fun, wouldn’t it be a shame not to go singing?” Zhuo Qingyuan said. “Hey? Why is your neck red too? You’re not having an allergic reaction, are you?”

Le Cheng’s skin was a little too fair. He wasn’t particularly prone to marks, but once they appeared, they were especially obvious. He somewhat unnaturally touched the back of his neck, as though he could still recall the scorching sensation of Zhou Shirui’s fingertips.

“I don’t know.” Le Cheng blinked. “Probably not. Let’s go outside.”

“Alright, then are you going or not…”

Their footsteps gradually faded into the distance.

After walking some distance, Le Cheng turned back to take another look.

He didn’t know whether he had just missed him, but he didn’t see anyone.

His mind was a mess, and Le Cheng was terribly distracted. Everything that had just happened was pressing against his rationality, stirring up a powerful urge to turn around and go back.

“Le Cheng? Le Cheng?” Zhuo Qingyuan waved his fingers in front of him.

“I’m talking to you. Why are you spacing out again?”

Only then did Le Cheng come back to his senses. They had already returned to the square from before. Tan Xiaobai stepped forward and hooked an arm around his neck. “Don’t go back. If you go back by yourself, you’ll probably just overthink things again. Come sing with us. Let’s go, let’s go…”

Le Cheng was half-pushed into the car. Unable to resist, he leaned against the window and looked outside, but he couldn’t see anything. They were too far away. All he could see were a few tiny black dots.

Why?

Why had he come looking for him? Why had he asked those kinds of questions?

The vague thread in his mind seemed as though one end had suddenly been caught. Le Cheng touched his lips, his fingertips feeling the soft warmth there. At that moment, a powerful illusion suddenly arose within him.

Zhou Shirui… did he perhaps like him a little too?

If he still didn’t care about him, then why would he question him? Why would he say something like that?

Some things seemed not to be as he had originally imagined. 

Although many of the details were far too strange, this guess still made Le Cheng’s heartbeat gradually accelerate. It was as though a pounding sound had begun to ring in his ears, and his hand unconsciously tightened around his phone.

Time passed second by second.

He wanted to ask clearly.

Even if he had guessed wrong, so what? He had tried his best too.

Having made up his mind, Le Cheng acted immediately. He opened the call screen, found that number, hesitated for two seconds, then tapped to call.

“Beep, beep, beep—”

Just then, the car arrived at their destination.

Le Cheng got out of the car, staring intently at his phone, feeling somewhat anxious.

“Beep, beep, beep—”

“Hello, the number you have dialed is currently busy…”

He didn’t answer.

Le Cheng followed at the back of the group, lowering his head to look at his phone. He wondered whether Zhou Shirui simply hadn’t noticed the call, or if he didn’t have his phone with him.

Wanting to bite his nails, Le Cheng called again.

“Beep—”

After three rings, the other person hung up.

Le Cheng froze slightly and called again.

After three rings, the other person hung up again.

So it wasn’t that he hadn’t seen the calls, he simply didn’t want to answer.

Le Cheng’s heart felt empty, as if a small piece of it had caved in. He couldn’t understand.

Why wouldn’t he answer the phone? Why could he question him like that just moments ago, but refuse to answer his calls now?

Walking into the private room, Le Cheng’s previously uplifted mood quickly sank. Sitting in the corner, he stared absentmindedly at his phone screen.

“What’s wrong?” After belting out a song, Tan Xiaobai had finally had his fill and sat down beside him, bumping his shoulder. “You’re out here having fun, but you’re this unhappy? Still thinking about it? You just happened to see him once, and you miss him this much?”

Le Cheng shook his head. Holding his phone, he frowned, his pretty brows and eyes drooping. Supporting his cheek with one hand, his eyelashes lowered as well, like a drenched puppy.

“He…” Le Cheng said. “He’s ignoring me…”

“Huh?” Tan Xiaobai completely failed to catch the information in those words. “What? Who’s ignoring you?”

Le Cheng hesitated before raising his eyes. “I think… Zhou Shirui really does seem to like me a little. No, it’s not that he likes me, but he definitely cares about me a little.”

Although he did not quite understand why Le Cheng had suddenly come to this conclusion, Tan Xiaobai still asked concisely, “So? You’ve finally figured it out? You’re going to go find him now? You want to get back together with him?”

The words “get back together” felt too weighty, because he still had not completely figured out Zhou Shirui’s feelings, but after a moment of silence, Le Cheng honestly nodded.

He wanted to clear things up with Zhou Shirui.

“Then if he’s not looking for you, you go look for him.” Tan Xiaobai had been in a few relationships himself. “What’s the big deal? Just talk it out. If he has you in his heart, you can get back together.”

“Really?” Le Cheng’s tone suddenly rose, but it only lasted for a second before he lowered his eyelids and said, “…I called him, but he didn’t answer.”

“When did you call?”

“Just now.” Le Cheng pursed his lips.

Tan Xiaobai was a little unable to figure it out too. “That’s really strange. Logically speaking, it shouldn’t be like this. At the plaza, the way Zhou Shirui looked at you just now was very… you know…”

Le Cheng asked in confusion, “Very what?”

It was hard to describe. Indifference, anger, tenderness, it was very complicated. But to sum it up, it was like he wanted to swallow Le Cheng whole. “Ah, it’s hard to explain.” Tan Xiaobai saw Le Cheng tightly gripping his phone. “You haven’t been sitting here waiting for his message this whole time, have you? Oh my god, you… are you acting in some tragic romance drama?”

“Stop looking. I’m confiscating your phone.” Tan Xiaobai directly snatched his phone away and, right in front of Le Cheng, turned on Do Not Disturb mode. “You can wait all you want, but nothing’s going to come of it. You might as well finish singing and go home, then think carefully about what exactly you want to do and what exactly you want.”

Le Cheng was not very willing, but seeing how firm Tan Xiaobai was, he still said weakly, “Alright then.”

****

A gentle breeze blew, the setting sun red as blood.

“Finally finished! That’s a wrap, that’s a wrap!! This test flight was a huge success!”

“With this result, next time we’ll beat the crap out of the guys next door!!!”

“Why do I feel like there are mosquitoes even at this time of year? My arm is so itchy…”

“Not to mention there aren’t any mosquitoes right now, with skin as thick as yours, could a mosquito even bite you?”

“You looking for a beating… Don’t run!”

The noisy voices gradually drew closer, until they were right beside him. “Eh? Brother Rui, we’re leaving. What are you doing?”

“Hm?” Zhou Shirui lowered his eyes, his expression faint. After pausing for two seconds, he unusually asked in return, “We’re leaving?”

“Yeah, we’ve finished all the test flights. It was a huge success. Next time we compete, we’ll definitely beat the guys next door into the ground.” The person said, “They’re packing up and leaving too. We’re going out to have fun, so let’s go too. You’re not going back to school today? If you are, give me a ride.”

Zhou Shirui’s fingertips moved slightly. He gazed aimlessly at the shops across from the plaza in the distance, not knowing what he was thinking.

“I’m not going back.” Zhou Shirui paused for a few seconds. “You go ahead.”

“Oh, alright.” The person nodded and said goodbye to him. “Then we’ll head out first.”

The plaza quieted down. Zhou Shirui stood there for a while, then walked to the other side to get his car. Opening the door, he sat inside. A nerve at his temple was throbbing, and the turmoil in his heart was difficult to calm.

He lowered his eyes slightly and looked at his palm. Why?

Two hours ago, that smooth, soft sensation had slid across his fingertips like water. That sensation, once again vividly alive, along with the memories, the lips, the body temperature, the images, returned to his mind.

The prolonged and recurring withdrawal reaction made it hard for him to breathe.

His phone rang twice. Zhou Shirui involuntarily looked over. It was spam.

He had been the one to hang up the call, so why did he feel so miserable and tormented now?

It was as though he had an addiction, one he could not quit or break free from. He did not want to break free, nor could he quit. He had only gotten a little closer, had not even kissed those lips yet, and his emotions had already rebounded violently.

Tearing at his rationality, stirring up his heart.

There was a red dot on Moments. Zhou Shirui stared at it silently for two seconds before opening it.

It was a post by Xu Yuan.

A photo with a colorful background. Enlarging it, he saw several members of the club looking at the camera, with Le Cheng among them.

His smile was beautiful.

So sunny, so pretty, drawing people’s gazes. The corners of his eyes tilted upward, like a puppy, like a kitten, and like a lover.

His breathing stalled slightly. Even he, who had always prided himself on having a clear mind, fell into immense confusion at this moment.

It was like standing at a crossroads, his abnormal behavior, his wavering heart, the rationality he found difficult to control. Something was beating in his chest, breaking through its barriers and urging him to make a choice.

Perhaps before this, he had always believed that as long as he tried hard enough to forget, he could let go.

But now.

What was even harder to accept? Zhou Shirui asked and answered himself: never seeing him again, never being able to look at him again.

Even meeting once was difficult. It was having him, only for him to disappear again. It was being lifted high into the sky, then falling heavily. It was truly forgetting. It was wanting to touch him, yet having to tug at his own heart and force himself not to.

His mind was a mess. He thought, if Le Cheng had been lying to him all along, then why had he called him?

Why had he explained things to him?

Did Le Cheng truly not have even a little sincerity toward him?

There was no answer, but Zhou Shirui already had an answer in his heart.

He did not care anymore, he thought.

At this moment, his rationality and heart finally merged.

If Le Cheng wanted to deceive him, then let him deceive him. If he wanted to deceive him, then let him deceive only him.

***

By the time everything ended, the sky had not yet grown dark. The setting sun was golden, streaked across the horizon. During the latter half, Xu Yuan had called a few more people over to join them.

“These guys drank, so they can’t drive,” Xu Yuan directed. “Call a taxi for them first. There are three cars left. Which of you didn’t drink?”

“I didn’t,” Le Cheng said.

Zhuo Qingyuan said, “Me neither.”

Tan Xiaobai said, “I didn’t drink either.”

Chu Yao said, “Me neither.”

“Four people in each car. Those of you who didn’t drink can drive.”

The cars had been driven over by the people who came later to join them. Hearing this, those who had not drunk helped the drunk people into the cars, then took the keys.

Le Cheng helped support someone. After he finished, he saw that there was still an empty passenger seat in one of the cars. Without much hesitation, he got in.

The driver was Zhuo Qingyuan. Turning his head to look at him, he said smugly, “Come on, let me show you my driving skills.”

“Sure.” Le Cheng smiled and nodded. 

As soon as the words left his mouth, his heart suddenly trembled. He wanted to turn around, and in fact, he did just that, looking toward the intersection not far behind them. For some reason, his heart was pounding, and he had an inexplicable feeling.

The car started and drove steadily down the road. The two people in the back seat were already drunk out of their minds, quietly beginning to snore, sprawled out in all directions. Le Cheng chatted absentmindedly with Zhuo Qingyuan while opening his phone and turning off Do Not Disturb mode.

“Ding dong!”

A flood of messages popped up on his phone.

Aside from a few notifications, the first thing Le Cheng saw was a missed call.

[Zhou Shirui]

Those three characters were clear as day.

As if he had seen wrong, his breathing stalled slightly. Le Cheng blinked, then saw that Tan Xiaobai had also sent him messages.

[Tan Xiaobai: Remember to treat me to a meal later.]

[Tan Xiaobai: A good deed deserves to be remembered.jpg]

???

Le Cheng was a little confused and typed a question to him.

[Orange: ?? What happened?]

[Orange: What good deed did you do?]

But Tan Xiaobai did not reply.

Le Cheng felt a wave of confusion. He stared at the messages for a while before putting his phone away. Suddenly, Zhuo Qingyuan beside him said, “Why is that car behind us using its high beams now? And flashing them at us! How rude!”

Le Cheng absentmindedly went, “Hm?” Before he could respond, Zhuo Qingyuan frowned. “…Something’s not right.”

“Hm?” Le Cheng looked at him. “What’s wrong?”

“That car.” Zhuo Qingyuan said in confusion, “…Why does it look like he’s trying to cut us off?”

“What?” Le Cheng froze for a second. He hesitantly turned his head. Through the rearview mirror, he saw a car he had never seen before, its sleek body tightly following behind them. Amid the roar of its enormous engine, it seemed to almost tear through the sky, 

In an instant, Le Cheng clearly saw the face of the person inside.

Zhou Shirui.

At that moment, he almost forgot to breathe. Time seemed to freeze, everything moving in slow motion. He saw Zhou Shirui’s dark eyes, one hand resting on the steering wheel while the other was raised, his long fingers holding a phone.

The next second, a short ringtone exploded beside his ear.

Le Cheng hurriedly answered. A cold, deep male voice sounded from the other end. “Le Cheng.”

Zhou Shirui called him like this: “Pull over.”

Le Cheng froze slightly. “What?”

“I said pull over.” Zhou Shirui’s voice sounded calmer than ever.

Zhuo Qingyuan had overheard part of the conversation and sensed that something was wrong. “You know the car behind us?”

“I-I know him…” Le Cheng was still immersed in immense shock when Zhuo Qingyuan suddenly said, “Don’t tell me that’s your ex in there?”

“…It is.” Le Cheng’s heart began pounding wildly. Zhuo Qingyuan said, “Is he chasing after you to get back together? F*ck, this is exciting.”

“I’m pulling over.” Zhuo Qingyuan loved watching the drama unfold. “I’m afraid he’ll go crazy and crash into me. We’ve got innocent people in this car.”

Before Le Cheng could react, Zhuo Qingyuan had already decisively pulled over.

Correspondingly, with a sharp screech of brakes, the black car only a few meters away from them also came to a stop.

The car door slammed shut with a “bang,” sounding particularly abrupt in the silence. Zhou Shirui got out. Without hesitation, he walked toward them. When he was close enough, he bent slightly and slowly knocked on the car window.

Separated by the window, Le Cheng’s heart pounded wildly.

“Get out.” Zhou Shirui looked him in the eye expressionlessly. “Let’s talk.”

The fierce wind blew his clothes outward. His jaw was taut, its lines sharp, his dark eyes cold, deep, and calm, like the vortex of a storm. Le Cheng did not know how he got out of the car. By the time he came to his senses, he was already sitting inside Zhou Shirui’s car.

“You…” Le Cheng blinked unconsciously, his heart pounding in his chest. “Zhou Shirui, what are you going to do?”

“What am I going to do?” Zhou Shirui asked in return. “Don’t you know?”

“…I don’t.” Le Cheng slowly shook his head. Zhou Shirui’s tense emotions infected him, making his voice tighten. “I don’t know. I also… don’t know what you want.”

It was too quiet all around them. Zhou Shirui turned his head, looking at him expressionlessly. But his long fingers suddenly lifted and touched Le Cheng’s chest, where his heart was.

Zhou Shirui said, “I want this.”

A string in Le Cheng’s mind seemed to snap with a “pop,” and his eyes instantly widened. “…What?”

Zhou Shirui repeated himself. “I want this.”

Zhou Shirui gazed at him calmly and evenly. “I want this. I want you to like me, to love me, not to abandon me. I want your eyes to hold only me. Can you do that, Le Cheng?”

Le Cheng’s lips trembled. For a moment, he could not say anything.

“It’s alright if you can’t.” As if he could not wait even one second longer, Zhou Shirui tugged at the corner of his lips in self-mockery, then calmly said, “You said before that you wanted to be friends with me. Does that still count?”

Le Cheng’s mind had already become completely incapable of thinking. The overwhelming amount of information engulfed him, and he almost instinctively said, “It-it does…”

“Le Cheng.” Zhou Shirui suddenly spoke. “Are you pitying me?”

Le Cheng finally reacted. “No, I…”

But Zhou Shirui suddenly gave a very soft laugh. “Then pity me.”

He said it like this: “Le Cheng, have a little pity on me.”