When they returned to the dormitory, Xu Xingzhe once again clung to Lu Zhaoshen and whined to him for a long time under the streetlamp. He complained that he couldn’t understand the class without Lu Zhaoshen’s help, and even asked if Lu Zhaoshen could study with him later.
Lu Zhaoshen asked, “How did you manage to make so many friends when you focus all your energy on me? Where do you find the time?”
Xu Xingzhe wondered, “Friendships don’t necessarily need time to maintain. Just saying hello, chatting, or playing games together counts as making friends. But you’re different. If I don’t harass you for a day, you’ll forget about me.”
“Xu Xingzhe, you can’t do this.”
Lu Zhaoshen’s expression was serious as he caught Xu Xingzhe’s wandering hand, “What about in the future? What about after you graduate? Will you still cling like this?”
“Why can’t I do this? You just don’t like me and find so many excuses. Boring.” Xu Xingzhe pulled back his hand. The evening breeze in Nangang felt cold, chilling Xu Xingzhe’s heart.
Lu Zhaoshen seemed to be about to say something, his Adam’s apple bobbed twice, but in the end, he remained silent.
He was always like this, on the verge of blurting out something but managing to hold back, just like his restrained feelings for Xu Xingzhe.
Out of the corner of his eye, Xu Xingzhe saw Yan Xiao passing by with his hands in his pockets. He suddenly came up with a plan. He jumped up and waved at Yan Xiao, calling out affectionately, “Xiao-ge! Xiao-ge!”
Yan Xiao thought he heard someone calling him. When he looked closer, he saw Xu Xingzhe and his “cousin” standing far apart from each other under the streetlamp. The atmosphere between them seemed tense. Yan Xiao was puzzled for a few seconds, but then he understood. He took off his Bluetooth earphones and put them in his pocket. He walked over with a smile, wrapped his arm around Xu Xingzhe’s shoulder in front of Lu Zhaoshen, and said familiarly, “Xingxing, why are you back so late?”
Xu Xingzhe cursed a combination of dirty words in his mind, but he still smiled. He looked up and waved at Lu Zhaoshen, “I won’t cling to you anymore. As you wish, I’ll go make friends.”
Lu Zhaoshen’s expression wasn’t too good. Yan Xiao glanced at him playfully, then he led Xu Xingzhe toward the dormitory.
Xu Xingzhe’s heart was pounding. He was afraid that Lu Zhaoshen was really angry and didn’t want him. But he didn’t think that he had done anything wrong. He thought: Liking is a two-way street. Why was he always doing a solo act? Lu Zhaoshen was like an uninterested passerby, who would occasionally give him some sweetness, perform with him on stage for a while, and then leave mercilessly.
Qin Jiazhen had spoiled him since he was young and still called him her baobei. If he continued to ask for trouble like this, he would owe an apology not only to himself but also to Qin Jiazhen.
Yan Xiao pulled him forward, and Xu Xingzhe’s shadow grew longer under the streetlamp. He mentally counted to five. He decided that if Lu Zhaoshen didn’t stop him, he would ignore Lu Zhaoshen. Well, at least for a month.
“Five… Four… Three… Two point five… Two point four…”
Xu Xingzhe’s nose felt extremely stuffy. Yan Xiao almost shook the tears from his eyes as he dragged him.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Xu Xingzhe!”
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Ycis atfc vlv We Wlcuhtf jygeqais tjia tlr rafqr. Lf rieuulrtis aegcfv jgbecv, jcv yfobgf tf mbeiv fnfc wjcjuf ab ibbx ilxf tf tjv yffc kgbcufv, tf tfjgv Oe Itjbrtfc rjs, “Tbeg gbiifgyijvfr.”
Their rollerblades were in the same bag that Lu Zhaoshen was carrying.
“…”
Xu Xingzhe’s nose was out of joint. He rushed over and snatched the bag. “Lu Zhaoshen, if I keep following you, then I’m a dog!”
Lu Zhaoshen’s face was even darker than the overcast sky.
Xu Xingzhe slung the bag over his shoulder and strode into the dormitory. Yan Xiao was so amused that his stomach hurt. He jogged to catch up. He was about to reach out and put his arm around Xu Xingzhe’s shoulder, but Xu Xingzhe swung the rollerblade bag at him, “Stay away.”
“Burning the bridge after crossing it, biting the hand that feeds you,” Yan Xiao brushed off the dust but was not offended, he laughed, “Have you finally decided to stop sucking up?”
“Why don’t you mind your own business? Dating here and there, be careful of catching a disease!”
Yan Xiao shrugged disapprovingly, “Tsk tsk tsk. I just don’t get it. Why do you like him so much? Is it worth it? You don’t seem like the type to be a licking dog.”
Xu Xingzhe’s appearance, personality, and family background all indicated that he was someone worthy of having licking dogs around him.
After hearing Yan Xiao’s words, Xu Xingzhe felt like a deflated ball. He looked listless as he climbed the stairs. Halfway around the corner, he suddenly drooped his head and said, “Before I met him, I was pretty cool.”
*
Xu Xingzhe was really spoiled growing up. Qin Jiazhen and Xu Chengshan could only be described as moderately indulgent, but when Xu Xingzhe’s grandmother was still alive, that was when Xu Xingzhe was truly spoiled.
Because of Xu Chengshan’s work, Xu Xingzhe spent his time at his grandparents’ house until he was six years old. Xu Xingzhe’s grandmother treated her grandson like the apple of her eye, doing nothing but feeding and caring for him. So when Qin Jiazhen brought Xu Xingzhe back home, he was a little demon who disrupted the neighborhood. Qin Jiazhen couldn’t count the number of times she had to apologize.
Later, Xu Chengshan moved the whole family to Xicheng, and Xu Xingzhe, unfamiliar with the place, became a bit more restrained.
His first friend in Xicheng was Qian Sijia. Their friendship began as a heroic rescue of a damsel in distress. He saw a little girl about his age being bullied by a big boy. He rushed over and kicked him. Although he got beaten up, he was able to help her escape. However, he later found out that the bully was Qian Sijia’s older brother. At that time, the brother had struggled to bring Qian Sijia back home after she refused to do her homework and ran out to play. On the way, a little turnip came out of nowhere, indiscriminately looking for trouble, and let Qian Sijia run away again.
Because of this mishap, Qian Sijia and Xu Xingzhe became good friends. They formed a “No Homework Alliance” when they were ten years old. Unfortunately, after Qian Sijia entered middle school, she suddenly straightened out her ideas and her grades skyrocketed. She announced her withdrawal from the alliance and became a top student.
Xu Xingzhe was left alone and miserable in the alliance for a while, but fortunately, Chen Xiaoming bravely joined later.
Xu Xingzhe had been resentful about Qian Sijia’s betrayal of the alliance, but he wasn’t petty. When Qian Sijia came to him for help later, he readily agreed.
He pretended to be Qian Sijia’s new boyfriend and ran to show off in front of the bully leader, He Kai, from the neighboring school. He Kai’s eyes narrowed and his killing intent grew. Qian Sijia pretended to have been wronged to escape the confrontation, while Xu Xingzhe was chased for two blocks.
Then, due to an unexpected turn of events, he ran into Lu Zhaoshen.
Xu Xingzhe was initially angry and planned to end his friendship with Qian Sijia over this. But as soon as he thought of Lu Zhaoshen, his anger disappeared and he was secretly happy.
Today marked the tenth day Xu Xingzhe and Lu Zhaoshen stayed up late studying together.
From feeling repelled and disgusted at first, Lu Zhaoshen was now helpless before Xu Xingzhe’s antics. There was no way to stop his pestering, so Lu Zhaoshen just let him poke and prod as he pleased.
“I looked it up online, and I think I might have ‘skin hunger.’ All it takes is a hug to cure me,” Xu Xingzhe said as soon as he finished his homework, flinging his pen aside and resting his chin on Lu Zhaoshen’s arm, speaking as if his mouth was full of honey.
Lu Zhaoshen jolted his arm to shake Xu Xingzhe’s head away.
Xu Xingzhe used two fingers as if they were a small person. He pretended to walk step by step from the edge of the desk to Lu Zhaoshen’s wrist. Then, with a leap, he jumped over Lu Zhaoshen’s wrist and snatched Lu Zhaoshen’s homework.
“…Are you bored?”
“If you hug me, I’ll give you your homework back.”
Lu Zhaoshen naturally wouldn’t hug him, so Xu Xingzhe took the initiative and wrapped his arms around Lu Zhaoshen’s neck. Before Lu Zhaoshen could get angry, he released his grip.
He grinned and teased Lu Zhaoshen, “Gege, about what I said last time, why didn’t you react at all?”
Lu Zhaoshen took the workbook back, but he didn’t feel like working on it anymore. He closed the book and capped his pen. He put one hand on the table and twirled the pen absentmindedly. He seemed uninterested in Xu Xingzhe’s topic.
But Xu Xingzhe was earnest, “Lu Zhaoshen, be my boyfriend. Have mercy and just bend. I’ll love you for the rest of my life. It’s a super good deal!”
“Knock Knock—” Someone knocked on the door.
Both of them looked at the source of the sound. Lu Zhaoshen quickly pushed Xu Xingzhe’s paw back to his own lap.
It was Xu Chengshan. He came in and asked if Xu Xingzhe had been working hard today. Xu Xingzhe proudly held up his completed homework to Xu Chengshan and said, “Look, Zhaoshen helped me correct it, and I only got one question wrong.”
Xu Chengshan was a refined middle-aged man. He didn’t look like a successful businessman but rather like a scholar. Even though there were wrinkles at the corners of his eyes when he smiled, it didn’t detract from his gentle way of treating people. He had continued to exude charm throughout the years. He and Qin Jiazhen were a match made in heaven when they were young.
Xu Chengshan smiled and ruffled Xu Xingzhe’s head, “My son is amazing.”
Xu Xingzhe was puffed up with pride at the praise. He looked up and said, “No problem getting into Tsinghua or Peking University.”
Xu Chengshan grinned from ear to ear, “Aiyo, that’s fantastic. Xingxing is going to have a bright future.”
Xu Xingzhe leaned his head against Xu Chengshan’s belly. Xu Chengshan asked about Lu Zhaoshen’s situation at school. After chatting and laughing, he said to Xu Xingzhe, “Dad is going to Beijing on a business trip tonight and can’t accompany you.”
“Huh? Why do you have to go on a business trip so late?”
Qin Jiazhen happened to walk in with a tray of fruit and chuckled at Xu Xingzhe’s words, “Your dad is too busy.”
Xu Xingzhe was dazed, but his attention was soon drawn to Lu Zhaoshen.
After Xu Chengshan and Qin Jiazhen left, Xu Xingzhe stared at Lu Zhaoshen’s lips as he ate pineapple. He was unable to suppress the urge to swallow. He couldn’t tell if it was because of the sourness of the pineapple or Lu Zhaoshen.
“I’m sure I’ll dream about you again tonight. Will you dream about me?”
Lu Zhaoshen put down his fork and looked at him. He was so angry that he wanted to laugh. Xu Xingzhe pounced at him, his lips brushing the corner of Lu Zhaoshen’s mouth. The pineapple was tart rather than sour. Xu Xingzhe licked his lips and was about to go for another taste when Lu Zhaoshen smacked his butt with a book.
Wincing in pain, Xu Xingzhe complained while holding his butt, “Didn’t you promise me that you’d reply once for every ten sentences I say?”
Lu Zhaoshen stared at him for a while, making Xu Xingzhe feel a bit embarrassed. As if a snake spirit had possessed him, he squirmed back to his seat. Then he heard Lu Zhaoshen say, “Xu Xingzhe, find someone else to like. I’m really not gay.”
“No way.”
Thank You for the new chapter（*’∀’人）♥
Poor xingxing.. It must’ve felt so frustrated to chase your crush all the way to uni only for him to still be so distant with you. So I’m wondering if lu zhaoshen is just humouring xingxing or if he really did fall in love with him halfway through… The angst is gonna hurt with this one 😓