Lately, Xu Xingzhe’s curiosity had been running wild. He had collected a bunch of gay movies, picked a few with the highest ratings, and stayed up late watching them secretly under the covers until his eyes were bloodshot. He was listless during class, relying on coffee and fried chicken to hold on. But as soon as he saw Lu Zhaoshen, he suddenly snapped out of his daze and began to imagine himself and Lu Zhaoshen in the scenes of those movies.
If the two of them started dating in the future, where would they go? They would go to the continuous ranges of Brokeback Mountain, embracing under the blue sky and white clouds; they would go to the Iguazu Falls, where Ho Po-wing wasn’t able to go, not to start over, but to spend their lives together; and finally, they would ride bicycles on the candy-colored streets of Italy, kissing on the grassy bank by the stream…
Oh yes, kissing.
He wanted to kiss Lu Zhaoshen. A more severe condition than skin hunger was kissing hunger.
Xu Xingzhe had been a carefree little fool all his life. The words “Lu Zhaoshen” pretty much took over all his worries of the past seventeen years.
He had fallen in love with someone, so much so that he couldn’t wait for his answer, he just wanted to kiss him.
“Can I give you my first kiss?” The light in the room couldn’t hide the blush on Xu Xingzhe’s cheeks, but he still asked shamelessly.
Lu Zhaoshen was already immune to him. Without blinking an eye, he did his homework, and at the same time, he grabbed the monthly exam goals that Xu Xingzhe had arduously written a few days ago and pressed it against Xu Xingzhe’s forehead.
Xu Xingzhe wasn’t discouraged and continued to babble, “Lu Zhaoshen, what kind of person do you like then? Aside from my gender, I can try to change everything else. Of course, if you like quiet top students, it’s a bit challenging, but I’ll work hard.”
“Is your ‘working hard’ just doing three questions in an hour?”
Feeling guilty, Xu Xingzhe snatched the pen and clenched it in his hand. Before Lu Zhaoshen could speak again, he quickly started writing to avoid being scolded.
Xu Xingzhe was a bit thick, or as he put it himself, “not dumb, just not serious.” Lu Zhaoshen wasn’t a professional tutor, and his problem-solving approach often clashed with the subject teachers, but Xu Xingzhe could now fully understand and keep up. With the extra exercises that Lu Zhaoshen had circled him, he just about managed to get good grades.
Getting into the top thirty of the class shouldn’t be a problem.
Lu Zhaoshen looked at the shiny monthly exam goals written with a highlighter on Xu Xingzhe’s hand and thought to himself: the monthly exam was coming, and soon he would be free.
Xu Xingzhe was used to sucking up and was the best at pushing his luck. If Lu Zhaoshen ignored him, he would immediately start acting out. But as soon as Lu Zhaoshen frowned to show his impatience, Xu Xingzhe would cower like a chicken and only dare to grumble under his breath. Lu Zhaoshen had doubted countless times that he was really seventeen; five-year-old kids weren’t as childish as he was.
Yet, on the one hand, he was extremely childish, and on the other hand, he could openly say those shocking words.
Before the sexual impulse matter had passed, the idea of kissing popped up. Was this the end of his puberty? He was thinking about all sorts of unnecessary things.
Originally, Lu Zhaoshen had only focused on studying and hadn’t been distracted by the external world. But now, Xu Xingzhe’s antics had disturbed him into shambles.
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.
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Duoduo was even more observant than Lu Guoyuan. It had heard the movement early and saw Lu Zhaoshen coming out. It rushed over eagerly and its clumsy body flew across the cobblestone path and whooshed to pounce on Lu Zhaoshen.
At that moment, Xu Xingzhe was clinging to Lu Zhaoshen, begging him to go to the arcade with him tomorrow. Lu Zhaoshen refused, so Xu Xingzhe hugged Lu Zhaoshen’s arm and clung to him, “If you don’t go, I’ll kiss you forcibly, you—”
Before he could finish, his mouth was met with a dog’s wet mouth.
Lu Zhaoshen was stunned for two seconds, then couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile. He hugged the golden retriever that had rushed over, suppressing his laughter and rubbing its little head.
On the side, Xu Xingzhe wailed in terror, “My first kiss was stolen by a dog!!!”
Duoduo was so frightened by him that it retreated step by step behind Lu Guoyuan’s legs.
Xu Xingzhe felt both fear and resentment, and tears streamed down his face.
He was really crying. Lu Zhaoshen suppressed his smile and promised Xu Xingzhe that he would accompany him to the arcade tomorrow to atone for the dog’s crime.
*
Xu Xingzhe was a regular customer of the arcade and enjoyed vvvvip treatment due to his lavish spending.
As soon as Lu Guoyuan’s car drove away, Xu Xingzhe grabbed Lu Zhaoshen’s hand and rushed straight to the arcade. He said grumpily, “If you don’t have a blast with me today, it will be hard to get rid of my resentment!”
When they entered, Lu Zhaoshen squeezed his hand. Xu Xingzhe turned around and saw Lu Zhaoshen raise his chin to the northeast. Xu Xingzhe quickly looked over and saw He Kai and Qian Sijia not far away, playing a shooting game.
Xu Xingzhe’s expression turned serious. He suddenly remembered that he hadn’t asked Qian Sijia if she had clearly explained to He Kai what happened earlier. He scratched Lu Zhaoshen’s palm and whispered, “Let’s go to the second floor? I don’t want to see him.”
Lu Zhaoshen didn’t like asking for trouble, so he agreed and let Xu Xingzhe lead him to the second floor. Xu Xingzhe giddily explained the rules and how fun the various games were to Lu Zhaoshen and then played each game with him one by one. About twenty minutes later, he said that he had to go to the toilet, and slipped away in a flash, rushing to the first floor to find Qian Sijia.
He couldn’t be exposed. Just when Lu Zhaoshen had shown him some favor, if he found out how many lies he had told, he’d be done for.
He Kai was the first to notice Xu Xingzhe. He pulled Qian Sijia behind him with an unpleasant expression. Qian Sijia hadn’t come out of the game yet and only saw Xu Xingzhe standing nearby after she finished shooting.
“Xingxing! What are you doing here?”
“You still haven’t explained to him what happened that day?”
Qian Sijia thought for a while and then remembered what Xu Xingzhe was talking about, “I explained it!”
Xu Xingzhe pointed at He Kai’s face, “Then why is he still glaring at me?”
He Kai stepped forward, separating the two of them, and said in a firm voice, “I don’t like my girlfriend having a childhood sweetheart as her best friend. Please stay away from her.”
Qian Sijia rushed over to smooth things over, “Xingxing is my best friend. I’ve known him a lot longer than you. Please don’t interfere with my socializing. What about what you promised me earlier?”
Humiliated, He Kai snorted and turned away to leave.
Xu Xingzhe was also about to leave, but Qian Sijia caught up with him and apologized, “Xingxing, you still haven’t forgiven me? I didn’t mean to leave you behind that day. I knew you were good at running, so I trusted you could escape.”
Xu Xingzhe also snorted, “You are the best at burning bridges! I should have cut all ties with you a long time ago. And what’s going on now? Are you back together with him? Who was the one who came to me in the first place and said she couldn’t stand him even for a minute?”
Qian Sijia blushed and pouted, “After that incident, his attitude toward me changed. He wasn’t as clingy as before, and his words were colder. I thought he was kind of manly that way, so we got back together.”
“…” Xu Xingzhe racked his brain but couldn’t find a suitable word to describe his current speechlessness.
“I used to be especially attracted to this type of guy, you know, ‘good girls love bad boys’. But after spending time with him, I realized that he couldn’t keep up the appearance. He was too clingy and possessive. His eyes were on me every day, and it drove me crazy. So I wanted to break up. But later he promised to change, and I couldn’t find anyone else who liked me as much, so I changed my mind.”
After Qian Sijia finished, she waited for Xu Xingzhe’s sarcastic remarks, but after waiting for ages, she didn’t get any response. She looked up to see Xu Xingzhe in a daze as if he was contemplating something.
“Xingxing?”
“Is being clingy bad? Isn’t being in love clinging to each other?” Xu Xingzhe suddenly asked.
“I wouldn’t say it’s bad, but it has to be moderate. If it goes beyond that, it becomes annoying,” Qian Sijia analyzed like a love guru, then realized something was wrong, “Are you dating??!”
Xu Xingzhe didn’t answer. Qian Sijia exclaimed and excitedly shook Xu Xingzhe’s shoulder. She was about to say something when He Kai coughed from the side.
Qian Sijia took her hands away and said to Xu Xingzhe with a smile, “See, he’s starting again.”
Xu Xingzhe thought of Lu Zhaoshen. Lu Zhaoshen wouldn’t be jealous like this; he would be itching to set off firecrackers to celebrate Xu Xingzhe liking someone else.
“If I’ve been clingy to the point of annoying the other person, is there any way to salvage the situation?”
Qian Sijia thought about it before replying, “Then it’s time to cut your losses. First, stop being proactive, pretend to be sorry, and admit your mistakes. Keep your distance, act hot and cold. Remember, you must hold back. It’s better to retreat than to advance at this time!”
Enlightened, Xu Xingzhe turned around and drifted up the stairs.
After that, he continued to push Lu Zhaoshen to play all morning. However, when they were about to leave, he said goodbye to Lu Zhaoshen without dragging on. Lu Zhaoshen paused, then bid him goodbye with a hint of doubt.
For the next two days, Qin Jiazhen called Lu Guoyuan to tell him that Xu Xingzhe had caught a cold and that Lu Zhaoshen didn’t need to come over.
Lu Guoyuan put down the phone, “It’s good not to go. Dad will take you out for barbecue. Dealing with that little rascal has tired you out. Let’s go relax with some beer and barbecue.”
Lu Zhaoshen sat in the passenger seat with a blank face. When the car started, he asked, “Did Xu Xingzhe catch a cold?”
“Yeah.”
“Is it severe?”
“She said it’s just a minor cold, nothing serious. A 16-17 year old boy, what’s to fear from a little cold?”
Lu Zhaoshen’s expression didn’t seem to show much concern about this matter. Lu Guoyuan didn’t pay much attention either. It was only when Lu Guoyuan wanted to take him to the food court for barbecue that Lu Zhaoshen refused, saying that he wanted to go back and do his homework.
On the third day, Qin Jiazhen called and said it would be great if Lu Zhaoshen could come over to help Xu Xingzhe with his homework tonight.
Lu Zhaoshen stood at the door of Xu Xingzhe’s bedroom and knocked twice. Only then did he hear footsteps approaching. Xu Xingzhe, who was wearing cow-patterned pajamas, opened the door for Lu Zhaoshen. He looked sickly, and his hair was soft on his forehead, making his skin look very pale, almost devoid of color. Xu Xingzhe hadn’t seen Lu Zhaoshen for two days, and the thought of it was driving him crazy. At that moment, feeling wronged, he pouted and walked over to hug Lu Zhaoshen’s waist. But the next second, he let go and stepped back, showing concern for Lu Zhaoshen as he said, “I haven’t gotten over my cold yet. I can’t risk infecting you.”
Lu Zhaoshen had been prepared to push him away but ended up pushing air.
T/N: I thought Xingxing was watching some X-rated movies, but they turned out to be innocent 😂
Thanks for the update
Thank You for the new chapter (๑ơ ₃ ơ)♥
Aah to be young and in love~ hot and cold treatment works best with lu zhaoshen lol