The graduation ceremony for the seniors was grand, more so than any previous year’s ceremony. This was because their school had achieved first place in the district and second place in the city, thanks to Yan Xuming’s outstanding performance, making him the best student the school had seen in three years. All the teachers were ecstatic, coming up to Yan Xuming one by one to congratulate him.
However, all they spoke were clichés: how after so many years of studying, they were finally liberated, how all the hard work had paid off; how even in university, they couldn’t relax and still needed to devote themselves to learning; how the school was proud of him and how future juniors will take him as a role model, and so on.
Yan Xuming didn’t have the inclination to engage in such social niceties. As the teachers surrounded him, he strangely thought of Mai Dong. He felt that having a classmate like Mai Dong, who was aloof and difficult to approach, might have its advantages. Perhaps when Mai Dong achieved similar results next year, the teachers wouldn’t be surrounding him with such congratulations.
Since he thought of Mai Dong, Yan Xuming didn’t want to leave himself any regrets. He wasn’t the type to harbor regrets.
Glancing through the gaps in the backstage curtains, he indeed saw Mai Dong sitting upright in the front row.
As today was the graduation ceremony, Yan Xuming was naturally one of the representatives for the graduating class and would be giving a speech later. Similarly, the sophomore class also had student representatives who needed to come on stage to deliver speeches about striving and offering blessings to the seniors. However, this time, Mai Dong wasn’t one of the student representatives.
Having finally escaped the excited teachers, Yan Xuming lifted the heavy curtain backstage and strode past the still-unprepared podium towards the audience seats. He was planning to sit directly next to Mai Dong. However, to his surprise, as soon as he descended the steps of the stage, Mai Dong hastily stood up from the front row and hurried off somewhere.
Yan Xuming’s steps faltered. He was starting to doubt himself a bit. Was Mai Dong really so averse to him?
The rest of the event went smoothly that day. Yan Xuming’s speech received a round of applause, and it seemed like everyone was genuinely proud of him. But Mai Dong didn’t return to his seat until the event was over.
There are many missed opportunities during adolescence, or rather, missed opportunities are synonymous with youth.
After hesitating again and again, Yan Xuming finally mustered the courage to ask one of Mai Dong’s classmates as the event was winding down, “Excuse me, classmate, do you know where Mai Dong went?”
The boy shook his head. “I don’t know ah. He left before it even started. I don’t know him well.”
Yan Xuming nodded in thanks and didn’t say anything else.
It seemed like Mai Dong was always distant from others, with nobody knowing where he was, what he was doing, or what he was thinking. Yan Xuming stared at the empty seat for a while, feeling helpless. He realized that he was probably just another “stranger” to Mai Dong. He shouldn’t be too self-assured, thinking he was some universally beloved figure. In reality, he was just another “stranger” to Mai Dong.
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.
As Yan Xuming spoke those words in a calm tone, Mai Dong felt his heart tremble. He didn’t know how to respond or explain at that moment. He had no idea that the two of them had been missing each other all along. Quickly, he tightened his grip on the roses in his arms, as if afraid they might grow legs and run away, thus missing another opportunity.
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Mai Dong had an exaggerated sense of dedication, driven by his minimal desire for external things. Once he liked something or someone, he could like them for a very long time, relying on the small moments of happiness and sweetness he imagined for himself every day to keep moving forward.
But now, he didn’t even have the opportunity to fantasize. Yan Xuming had graduated and left the school. There would be no chance for Mai Dong to encounter Yan Xuming in various places anymore.
Mai Dong gathered his courage and tightly held Yan Xuming’s hand in the pocket of Yan Xuming’s coat. His tone was like a pitiful little leaf in a storm, “I didn’t know at the time… Actually, I was really upset when you graduated. Because in our sophomore year, I had placed many emotions on you without your knowledge. I felt selfish for doing so, yet I didn’t dare to get to know you.”
Yan Xuming adjusted the position of their hands in the pocket. Though his pocket wasn’t small, fitting the hands of two adult men was a bit cramped. They ended up holding each other’s hands tightly. “So, when I found that diary, I was truly shocked, Mai Dong. Since you started your sophomore year, my image in your heart has been reshaped several times.”
Mai Dong licked his lips. “The entries in the diary are probably more genuine…”
Yan Xuming, not knowing what came over him, started laughing again. “En, I’ve heard even in dreams, you wouldn’t dare have too much interaction with me. Is that you?”
Mai Dong was adept at blushing at Yan Xuming’s casual remarks. He cleared his throat, attempting to cover up his embarrassment. “I-I’m just being polite, aren’t I?”
The two of them strolled back to the dormitory in this manner. At this time on a Sunday, there were quite a few people coming and going. While they were at the field, Mai Dong could relax a little more. After all, it was dark there, but under the dormitory building, there was a row of streetlights, making it brightly lit.
Before they even reached the dormitory building, Mai Dong had already taken the initiative to withdraw his hand from Yan Xuming’s pocket.
It was strange to think that they were clearly holding hands as they left the dormitory for their date. At that time, Mai Dong’s mind was filled with the idea that Yan Xuming was going to confess his feelings to him. He was so overwhelmed with happiness that he didn’t pay attention to anything else. Now, feeling a bit calmer, he suddenly became shy. He lifted the roses in his arms to cover his face, feeling bashful.
Yan Xuming barely heard the quiet voice. “You should go back.”
Yan Xuming lifted his hand and pushed down the flowers in front of Mai Dong’s face, revealing Mai Dong’s eyes. Before he could speak, Mai Dong dodged away, adding a complaint, “Why are you treating my flowers like this!”
Yan Xuming’s words got stuck in the corner of his mouth for a while. Instead of saying “good night,” he swallowed hard and said, “It seems like the trial period is still very important.”
Mai Dong asked confusedly, “Why?”
Yan Xuming stared into his eyes. “Trial period first until you dare to give me a goodnight kiss under the dormitory building.”
!
Mai Dong’s face turned red and he ran back to the dormitory without looking back.
Rushing to the dormitory door, Mai Dong suddenly remembered another big issue.
His roommates all assumed that if he went out to dinner with Yan Xuming, he wouldn’t be thinking about confessing anymore. They didn’t know that the person who was going to confess to him was Yan Xuming. Now, returning to the dormitory with flowers in hand, he couldn’t avoid a barrage of questions. How should he respond?
Yet, he and Yan Xuming were in this inexplicable trial period. Did that mean they were officially together or not?
Work also has an internship period, and being in an internship period counts as having a job. Shouldn’t it be the same for relationships? Mai Dong thought to himself. But even so, he couldn’t find the words to say it, couldn’t explain why he couldn’t bring himself to say that he and Yan Xuming were together.
He didn’t fear people knowing about his sexual orientation, nor did he fear them knowing about his long-standing affection for Yan Xuming. Mai Dong couldn’t quite grasp what he was afraid of. He had a vague feeling that perhaps the reason Yan Xuming mentioned the need for a trial period was because of him.
After much deliberation, Dr. God Mai decided to give Yan Xuming a call.
He held the rose standing by the window, gazing at the moon through the window while waiting for the “beep beep beep” sound indicating the call was connecting. Today seemed to be overcast, the moon was small and blurry. After a short while, the phone was answered, and Yan Xuming’s voice was delivered directly into Mai Dong’s ear through the receiver. “Hmm?”
Mai Dong’s ears turned red again. He couldn’t help but suspect that Yan Xuming deliberately used that word to tease him. He discreetly shifted the phone from one ear to the other, from right to left, before asking softly, “When I… I go back, what should I tell my roommates?”
“What do you say?” Yan Xuming threw the question back again.
“I just don’t know, that’s why I’m asking you…” Mai Dong felt distressed.
“Do you think having me as your boyfriend would be embarrassing?”
“Of course not! Don’t say such things on purpose. You know very well that’s not what I meant…”
“Then just say it. If there’s something you feel awkward saying, should I say it for you?”
Yan Xuming’s proposal startled Mai Dong, who could almost anticipate the kind of words he was going to hear. Startled, he quickly hung up the phone and replied, “No, no, I’ll say it myself.”
Mai Dong thought to himself.
Since both of them needed a trial period, there was no need to casually divulge their relationship to others. How did that saying go again? “Keep your plans to yourself until they are successful, and guard your words until they are effective.” If they didn’t successfully pass this trial period, wouldn’t things become awkward and worse?
Mai Dong returned to the dorm holding a large bunch of orange roses, while Du Chuan was busy dominating in a game.
When Mai Dong left, everyone in the dorm felt relieved, thinking that since he went out with Yan Xuming, everything was fine. However, seeing him like this, it seemed like he had come back with a head full of lovey-dovey thoughts. Moreover, with the roses in his arms, they couldn’t tell if someone had given them to him or if he had bought them intending to give them away.
Du Chuan sighed, “Explain.”
Mai Dong prepared himself for the interrogation and quickly replied, “He really confessed to me, he didn’t lie, and he’s not a bad guy. Dinner tonight was expensive, and he paid for it!” Mai Dong rattled off a series of explanations. Although he didn’t want to disclose Yan Xuming’s identity for now, he still wanted to leave a positive impression on him.
Du Chuan was too busy with his game to be involved in the interrogation, so the task fell to Wu Zimo and Liu Hewei. The two of them pulled up chairs and sat around Mai Dong, with Wu Zimo looking as stern as a judge, saying, “Explain.”
Mai Dong omitted Yan Xuming’s identity, the other person’s gender, and, of course, what happened in the restroom of the Western restaurant. Instead, he said that they had noticed each other during high school but hadn’t been able to meet for various reasons. Now they had cleared up their regrets, confessed their feelings, exchanged flowers, and their relationship had smoothly entered the trial period.
Initially, Wu Zimo was quite satisfied with what he heard, almost ready to marvel at how Mai Dong had managed to get into a relationship. But before he could express his thoughts, he realized something and exclaimed, “What the hell is this? A trial period?!”
Wow, it’s quite amazing how many times they missed each other and how many chances were wasted!
Thank You for the new chapter (◞ꈍ∇ꈍ)◞⋆*✚ ♡
Thank you for the chapter! 🫶
Lmao mai dong, look at him disclosing the wrong things as usual 😂😂 what he should’ve disclosed was yan xuming’s identity, not the trial period!! 🤣 Ppl are gonna think ML is a scum man hahaha
Wow, Dr. Mai you should update your license
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙