Former School Grass and Student Union Chairman (2)
The melancholy of the farewell banquet was finally lifted with a glass of wine. Everyone toasted Zhou Yan and Liang Ruixi one by one, wishing them well in the future. Liang Ruixi reminisced on his four years at F University in bits and pieces, and a hint of grief appeared on his face. He wrapped his arm over Zhou Yan’s shoulder and the two started drinking. After a few rounds, both of them were a little tipsy, and their banter grew increasingly sentimental.
“Dude, I shall miss you in the future,” Liang Ruixi stated sincerely.
Zhou Yan: “Me too…”
Liang Ruixi said hoarsely: “I feel like no one will be as good to me as you are from now on…”
Zhou Yan: “What nonsense are you on about? Your girlfriend is still sitting here. Why are you worried that no one will treat you nicely when you look so handsome?”
Liang Ruixi scratched his neck and said, “That’s different. Women are women! Brothers are brothers!”
Zhou Yan educated him: “You’re talking like a guy with straight man cancer.”
Liang Ruixi: “Bullshit! I don’t have straight man cancer! Will I let your wife YY me having an affair with you if I have straight man cancer?”
Zhou Yan was dumbfounded: “… When I say straight man cancer, I don’t mean straight man.”
Liang Ruixi had an idea to tease people and remarked to Zhou Yan with a smile, “Hey, let me just say Sister Xiao has so much YY about you and me, wouldn’t it be too much of a letdown for her brain tonic if we don’t do anything ambiguous?”
Zhou Yan asked alertly, “What are you planning to do?”
“After being gossiped about by the entire school for four years, we might as well take advantage of this notoriety before graduation,” Liang Ruixi stated, taking a sip of oily pickled cabbage soup. “Come, come, come. Give me a kiss and show me what it’s like to kiss a man!” As he spoke, he pouted his lips, which appeared to be smeared with grease, and approached Zhou Yan with glee.
The entire table became riveted in a split second. They beat on the table and coaxed, “Kiss him! Kiss him!”
Zhou Yan laughed and scolded as he smacked his palm on Liang Ruixi’s mouth and pushed it away “Our girlfriends are here. You don’t want face, but I do!”
Xiao Zhi laughed wildly: “As long as Ruixi’s girlfriend doesn’t mind, I don’t mind. Hahaha!”
Xu Yan had began to become perplexed. When she heard Xiao Zhi say this, she adopted a ‘viewing a good show’ attitude and echoed: “I don’t mind either.”
Liang Ruixi smiled as he shrugged his shoulders: “See? Don’t you dare, coward? Straight men are men like you. If you are genuinely straight, what are you afraid of? A kiss won’t bent you…”
Everyone watched Zhou Yan put down his glass and tilt his head to block Liang Ruixi’s mouth as soon as he stated this.
For a split second, everyone present remained deafeningly still before exploding into shrieks loud enough to raise the roof: “Ah ah ah…”
Xiao Zhi covered her heart, almost fainting from excitement.
The kiss lasted for a mere moment. Liang Ruixi reacted by leaping from his seat and yelling a string of “fucks.” He used a tissue to wipe his lips and rinsed his mouth with beer: “You’re insane! Don’t you realize I’m joking with you!?”
“You provoked me, moron,” Zhou Yan remarked as he promptly wiped his oily lips with the back of his hand as well.
Liang Ruixi’s face flushed: “What’s the matter with you?! Will you kiss anyone who provokes you?!”
Zhou Yan’s eyes narrowed and he remained mute. He took a sip of wine from his glass.
This naughty kiss dispelled much of the previous sentimental ambiance, but it didn’t take long for Liang Ruixi to start drinking excessively again. This time, he drank so much that his logic dropped to zero. The entire person, complete with snot and tears, leaned on Zhou Yan. His image was obliterated.
The party had seen this fantastic freshman play previously and knew they were in “brotherly love,” so they were unconcerned.
“How about I bring him back first?” Zhou Yan murmured helplessly after dinner.
“I’ll take Xu Yan with me to get a taxi,” Xiao Zhi said thoughtfully.
Xu Yan’s face had a trace of embarrassment as she stated: “Um, it’s almost curfew time at my school. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it. I’d better open a room nearby. I, I can look after Ruixi…”
Zhou Yan: “Alright, then I’ll take you guys directly to the hotel.”
Qi Feng paid the bill and formally bid Zhou Yan and the others farewell. Zhou Yan remembered something and said to Qi Feng, “By the way, in the last four years, I’ve bought a lot of books. It’s inconvenient to bring them back to my hometown now that I’ve graduated. When you have time, come to my dorm room and check around. If you want, you can pick up a couple books.”
Qi Feng: “Okay. Thank you, senior.”
Zhou Yan: “You’re welcome.”
On the way back, Qi Feng and Ling Ke discussed Zhou Yan and Liang Ruixi’s relationship. Qi Feng inquired, “What do you think of them…?”
Ling Ke knew exactly what Qi Feng was going to ask. In reality, he had considered this subject previously — if Qi Feng was a straight man, he might also join with the other party to play the profound brotherhood drama, burying his affections firmly in his heart and never revealing them… Perhaps they would resemble Zhou Yan and Liang Ruixi.
Only he wouldn’t have found a girlfriend. If he was truly gay, finding a legit girlfriend as a ruse was completely unacceptable, unless it was arranged in private and they were only acting, as he did as Qi Feng’s fake boyfriend.
So…was Xiao Zhi pretending to be Zhou Yan’s girlfriend?
Ling Ke shook his head and answered Qi Feng, “I can’t see it. It’s difficult to joke about such a situation. Perhaps only the people involved can tell if it’s interesting.”
Qi Feng grasped Ling Ke’s hand in his palm and held it. He’d asked lightly and wasn’t interested in gossiping about others as long as he and Ling Ke were happy.
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.
The next day, Qi Feng went to Zhou Yan’s dormitory to get some books and asked him, “How is Senior Liang?”
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Zhou Yan: “Yeah. I’m not used to taking notes in books, and I rarely lend them to others. They are all rather new.”
Qi Feng selected a book and flipped through it, discovering that this was indeed the case: “Then don’t you feel awful giving them away like this?”
Zhou Yan replied with a smile, “I purchased the electronic versions of the good books online and saved them to my Kindle. I can read them whenever I want.”
Qi Feng was not greedy and chose a few textbooks. He also indicated that if Zhou Yan wished to sell these books, he could recommend someone to take over and assist him in doing so.
Ling Ke returned to the dormitory in the evening and noticed that Qi Feng had placed the books he had received from Zhou Yan on his desk, including a copy of Freud’s “The Interpretation of Dreams.” Out of curiosity, he took it up. As a result, when he opened it, a piece of paper fell out.
It was a sheet torn from a notebook, on which Xu Zhimo’s poem was written—
You and I come across on the dark sea,
You have yours, I have mine, direction;
You can remember,
It is best that you forget,
The lights that shine on each other during this encounter!
… …
Ling Ke was taken aback when he noticed words on the back of the paper and turned it over. On the back of the paper, he noticed the name “Liang Ruixi” written in densely packed letters.
He presented it to Qi Feng. “Do you think Zhou Yan might like Liang Ruixi?” asked Qi Feng, his expression subtle and curious.
“Who knows,” answered Ling Ke, sighing.
Zhou Yan and Liang Ruixi graduated later.
Ling Ke, Qi Feng, and the two guys had added each other on WeChat and viewed each other’s status in Friends' Circle on occasion.
Zhou Yan went to work for a reputable law firm in the city, and Liang Ruixi worked as a judicial consultant for a number of publicly traded corporations. One of the two led a strict life, only posting professional and work-related stuff on social media; the other was uninhibited, going to a bar today and a nightclub tomorrow, and enjoying a happy and unrestrained life.
However, Qi Feng and Ling Ke’s lives did not intersect theirs, and their communication with one another dwindled.
Qi Feng and Ling Ke were about to graduate three years later. On this day, the two received word of Xiao Zhi’s marriage and an invitation to her wedding.
Qi Feng was delighted, but when he opened the invitation, he discovered that Xiao Zhi’s marriage partner was not Zhou Yan!
Qi Feng and Ling Ke were both taken aback in this aspect. Zhou Yan and Xiao Zhi had a wonderful relationship back then. What made Xiao Zhi want to marry someone else? Was it possible that campus love was actually tough to sustain?
Qi Feng couldn’t help but bite the bullet and gossip with Xiao Zhi after a while: “Chief, when did you break up with Senior Zhou?”
Xiao Zhi did not shy away from this, and said frankly, “We split up not long after he graduated.”
Qi Feng: “Uh, is it because Senior Zhou is too busy with work?”
Xiao Zhi: “No, I was too busy, and there was no need for me and him to be together at that time.”
Qi Feng couldn’t comprehend it, but seeing Xiao Zhi’s haughty and chilly tone, he sensed a conflict between the two and sent a reassuring expression, saying, “Chief, you are both talented and beautiful. Let the past be the past, right? Your groom-to-be, in my opinion, is a better man than Senior Zhou. God bless you.”
This exchange, he thought, was flawless in terms of expressing his stance and blessing. Xiao Zhi unexpectedly sent over a belly laugh face and stated, “You don’t need to comfort me. Zhou Yan and I have never really been together. He has another person in his heart.”
“Haha, the person in Senior Zhou’s heart isn’t Liang Ruixi, right?” joked Qi Feng.
Xiao Zhi: “I can’t tell you this🤭 You can question him yourself if you’re curious.”
Qi Feng was stunned. He saw Xiao Zhi add: “My true love is the one I wish to marry. Thank you for your blessing. Remember to come to my wedding if you and Ling Ke have time~😛”
Qi Feng replied, “Sure, absolutely.”
Following that, he and Ling Ke had a brief discussion regarding the matter. “What do you believe Xiao Zhi’s statements mean?” Qi Feng: The Curious inquired.
Ling Ke took a look at the chat log and said, “Don’t you have his WeChat? Ask him yourself.”
Qi Feng wiped his cold sweat away, unable to muster the courage. The righteousness on Zhou Yan’s body was overpowering. He could joke around with Xiao Zhi but not with Zhou Yan.
“Do you believe Xiao Zhi would invite Zhou Yan and Liang Ruixi to her wedding?” Qi Feng asked Ling Ke again.
“We’ll find out when we go,” Ling Ke responded.
Qi Feng looked helplessly at Ling Ke, who was unconcerned about the emotional lives of others, and had to stop.
Qi Feng and Ling Ke met several fellow seniors, including Qi Qiurui, on the day of Xiao Zhi’s wedding, but only Zhou Yan and Liang Ruixi were absent.
Several F University grads were at a table, discussing Zhou Yan and Xiao Zhi’s romance and speculating on why they split up. Some even declared that they wanted to phone Zhou Yan.
They were, of course, joking. It was Xiao Zhi’s wedding banquet, and as her friends, they couldn’t smash the venue.
Fortunately, a video of well wishes from the bride and groom’s relatives and friends – including Zhou Yan – who were unable to attend the wedding was shown. He was dressed in a lawyer’s attire and stood in front of the court, holding a stack of documents. “I was litigating a civil lawsuit lately, and the day of the final decision happened to overlap with Xiao Zhi’s wedding banquet,” he sincerely apologized. “I’m sorry for being unable to attend your wedding as a result of this. I wish Xiao Zhi, my best female friend and confidante, a wonderful wedding…”
Friends who knew them found it both sad and humorous to hear such a blessing, but on second thought, it was in keeping with the workaholic attitude of “Chairman Zhou.”
They ate for quite some time, waiting for the bride and groom to arrive to toast. When Xiao Zhi noticed Qi Feng and Ling Ke sitting next to each other, she said joyfully, “Are you two good?”
Qi Feng understood what she was asking and grinned, “We’re good. Chief, thank you for your care.”
Xiao Zhi looked at them for two seconds, her eyes full with blessings and gratification, before drinking alongside them. She abruptly leaned into Qi Feng’s ear before leaving the table and said: “Zhou Yan is not as fortunate as you. He likes the same sort, so this road will definitely be a little more difficult.”
Qi Feng: “…”
All of Qi Feng and Ling Ke’s earlier hypotheses were clarified by these few words.
About half a year later, Qi Feng and Ling Ke graduated and both joined Jiang Ying’s TV station.
Soon after starting work, the two went shopping and met a pair of same-sex pals in a Muji store to buy soft decoration.
“Wow, I really like this beanbag. Let’s get one!” one person stated.
— Qi Feng and Ling Ke, who were selecting towels by the side, were stunned and looked in that direction when they heard this voice.
“Don’t you already have a sofa? The house we rented is so small, where would you put another?” another individual stated.
— Not only was the voice familiar, but so was the back view.
“Actually, I threw that one. Buy it, buy it, buy it.”
“Okay, okay, I really can’t say no to you…”
… …
Qi Feng and Ling Ke exchanged glances before walking over and patting one of the guys on the shoulder. The man turned his head, shocked, before breaking into a smile and said, “Qi Feng!?”
The other guy turned around as well, and there was Liang Ruixi, whom they hadn’t seen in three years!
“Wow, what a coincidence to run into you here!” Liang Ruixi put his hands in his pockets, looking exactly the same as he did three years earlier.
Zhou Yan appeared much more mature, and his temperament was also considerably calmer.
“Have you also come to buy home decor?” Zhou Yan inquired casually. After asking, he felt that this sentence was a bit ambiguous, so he tilted his head to hide it.
Qi Feng gave a meaningful smile. The word “also” had revealed too many things.
He didn’t say anything about it, but rather invited: “Long time no see. Are you guys free right now? Why don’t we get together for a meal to catch up?”
Zhou Yan looked at Liang Ruixi, as though he wanted to know what he thought. Liang Ruixi responded indifferently, “Okay.”
Liang Ruixi couldn’t buy a beanbag now that he had committed to sharing a meal, so he put shopping on hold for a bit. The group randomly found a Cantonese restaurant in the mall.
Qi Feng returned to the previous topic after taking a seat: “Ling Ke and I are coworkers who have rented a property near the TV station. These two days, we are decorating the house.”
Liang Ruixi inquired, perplexed: “Aren’t you two from around here? What kind of residence have you rented?”
Renting a property in S city was prohibitively expensive due to the high cost of land in the city. They were both from the area. Qi Feng’s property, in particular, was a spacious villa with a driver who picked up and dropped off at work. Renting a property was, certainly, unfathomable to outsiders.
“It’s to maintain the two-person world,” Qi Feng said with a smile. They had no choice but to rent another flat because the apartment near F University was too far from their workplace.
“Tut!” Liang Ruixi snorted, perhaps in envy or ridicule: “Your relationship is very good.”
Surprisingly, as soon as he finished speaking, he noticed Qi Feng staring at him and inquiring, “So, how about you? Do you live together?”
Liang Ruixi choked up, unsure of how to respond.
This hesitation attracted Zhou Yan’s burning gaze. In a dilemma, Liang Ruixi simply smashed the broken jar and said, “Yes.”
Perhaps his tone reflected his powerlessness at being obliged to do something, prompting Zhou Yan to cock his brow and ask, “Are you so miserable living with me?”
“No, I just haven’t gotten used to this…relationship,” Liang Ruixi answered quickly.
“What’s the relationship?” Qi Feng knowingly asked.
Zhou Yan pressed his fist to his lips and coughed lightly, confessing to the two of them: “We are also together.”
Liang Ruixi massaged his brow awkwardly, anticipating Qi Feng and Ling Ke’s “bursting into laughter” reaction.
The two guys on the other side, however, seemed as nonchalant as if what they were hearing was insignificant. Qi Feng didn’t keep him on pins and needles, instead saying simply, “I guessed as much.”
“How did you figure it out?” For a brief while, Liang Ruixi was taken aback, wondering if he and Zhou Yan were so obvious. That year, though, he brought his girlfriend to the graduation banquet. He felt increasingly suspicious as he pondered the situation. “Are all you gays born with the aura of identifying the same sort!” Liang Ruixi questioned, sweeping his glance across the three of them.
“We’ve shared a bed, so it appears you’re the same sort as us now,” Zhou Yan replied brutally while rolling his eyes.
Qi Feng & Ling Ke: “…”
“Pfft!” Liang Ruixi spit out his tea and roared angrily, “I’m not!”
“You mean, after fooling with me all this time, you plan to abandon me?” Zhou Yan asked, raising his eyebrows.
Liang Ruixi scratched his head and stated, “I didn’t mess with you in the first place! You’re obviously a master of disguise. Why did you look for Xiao Zhi to pose as your girlfriend? If you’d told me you’re not a straight man, maybe we could’ve gotten together a long time ago!” He looked at Qi Feng and Ling Ke when he said this, comparing the disparity in their emotional journeys.
Qi Feng: “Actually, Ling Ke and I didn’t get together as smoothly as you assume.”
Zhou Yan: “How so?”
Qi Feng: “We both assumed that the other party was a heterosexual at first. We were scared that the other party would despise us if he discovered our sexuality, so we pretended conscientiously. Later, I couldn’t stop myself and swindled Ling Ke to pose as my fake boyfriend on the grounds of obstructing peach blossoms. He agreed, and we attempted to spend time together… When we first started dating, I assumed he was bent by me.”
Ling Ke thought to himself as he observed the strange expressions of the two men sitting opposite them: It’s all a routine.
Qi Feng detailed the process of their relationship briefly and stated, “We had a lot of mishaps in between. We didn’t realize we fell in love with each other at first sight until we talked about it openly.”
Ling Ke: “…” Does a sixth grader in elementary school understand the concept of love at first sight?
Zhou Yan and Liang Ruixi’s faces were sore. They could have a relationship by pretending to be a couple? What the fuck is this?
After Qi Feng finished speaking, he returned to the subject, saying, “Senior Liang, you are not innately gay, so how are you with Chairman Zhou?”
Liang Ruixi softly snorted: “For many years, a certain someone has had a crush on me. I believe he is pitiful and have decided to give him a chance.”
Zhou Yan’s eyes twitched: “Who was it who came to me every day for a period of time to mooch food and refused to leave at night? And who was it who messed around and played with fire after drinking?”
“Hey!” Liang Ruixi interrupted him loudly, “Don’t throw the pot, will you? What drunken sex? It was clearly you who drank too much, and you kissed me first! If you don’t want to see me, just drive me away. There are plenty of places this young master can go. Who cares about your shabby house.”
Zhou Yan glanced at him with a puzzled expression on his face and a smile in his eyes: “Can’t you be truthful. I wouldn’t have taken you in if it wasn’t for your disrupted work and rest, as well as your stomach troubles despite three meals a day!”
When Qi Feng noticed this, he quickly smoothed things over, saying, “Haha, don’t worry about it since you’re happy together.”
Ling Ke nodded as well, and changed the subject by asking Zhou Yan about work.
Zhou Yan hastened to pay the bill after speaking for a long time and enjoying the food, and while Liang Ruixi and Ling Ke went to the lavatory, he whispered to Qi Feng, “You actually guessed our relationship?”
“Chief Xiao gave me some hints,” Qi Feng laughed.
“I knew it,” Zhou Yan sighed helplessly.
Qi Feng encouraged him by patting him on the shoulder.
“Let’s meet up more in the future,” Zhou Yan added.
… …
Ling Ke and Liang Ruixi returned while they were talking. Zhou Yan cut the conversation short since he needed to take Liang Ruixi back to Muji to get their beanbag.
Ling Ke asked Qi Feng when they parted, “What did Zhou Yan just say to you?”
“Zhou Yan mentioned that Liang Ruixi used to be a straight guy,” Qi Feng said with a light smile. “and the current social atmosphere is not very accepting of our community, particularly when it comes to the issue of coming out of the closet. If he has friends of the same type around, encouraging each other may give Ruixi a bit more courage to continue with him, so let’s get together with them more often in the future.”
Ling Ke mused, No wonder Zhou Yan’s expression was so tender…
“Do you think they can go on?” Ling Ke asked.
Qi Feng wrapped his arms around his shoulders and whispered, “When a man no longer opposes homosexual sex, he is no longer a straight guy… Besides, Chairman Zhou has waited for so many years. He’s patient and black-bellied. I see Senior Liang being eaten to death. He’ll never be able to escape from his grasp.”
Ling Ke: “…Really?”
Qi Feng smiled at his lover, moved in, and stole a kiss, adding, “Just like I can’t run away from your control.”
Ling Ke’s lips curved up as he reached out and rubbed the other person’s ear, kissing him back.
Translator:
I’m here to finish up the extras. Enjoy!
!!! Thank you for the chapters Translator-sama~! Although it’s been a while, these extras are well worth it hehe
Now don’t mind me, just continuing to read until the last one- jumps to the next chapter
Thank you for translating the extras!
Oh my gosh didn’t expected this Thank you for the extras!
Thank you for the chapters. I can make it my call for a re-read, because I basically forgot who is who in this story. 😅
Their radar are all off?
ahhhh! thank goodness, i decided to check my reading list! i didn’t notice the extras were updated huhu. thank you. I really like this side ship. I hope they’ll get strong, too!
Aww good for ZY and LR 😌❤️
exhales I actually thought that the author did them dirty but I’m glad they are together 😍
I CALLED IT!!! ANOTHER PAIR TRYING TO ACT STRAIGHT
I knew it… They’re also acting straight 🤔😂😂 LRX is just really bent 50 percent but still in denial for so many years… The way he acted when they’re both the school grass explained they already have feelings but didn’t know or afraid to let anyone know. I knew ZY was gay he didn’t even get angry when he knew that QF and XZ went out.. then stared intently on LRX
Awwww yay for Zhou Yan! Thanks for translating!
i’m glad they got their happy ending, too!