Chapter 6

Lè Chéng realized he was blushing, slightly lowering his head, with a tuft of hair at the back curling up, resembling a ripe, cute little tomato.

It was a bit awkward. But then Lè Chéng thought, since he and Zhōu Shiru were in a relationship, blushing a little didn’t seem like a big deal.

New couples often blush when the other gets close.

It was quite normal.

Lè Chéng gradually convinced himself.

He was wearing a light blue jacket, and to ease the awkwardness, he put his hand in his pocket, feeling something hard.

Oh, right. Lè Chéng remembered: “Chopsticks, I haven’t given you the chopsticks yet.”

His pockets were deep, and he had absentmindedly stuffed the chopsticks in there earlier, forgetting about them.

He couldn’t help but imagine Zhōu Shiru’s cold face grabbing noodles with his hands.

The more awkward the scene, the more Lè Chéng wanted to laugh. He bit his lower lip to hold it in and handed the chopsticks to Zhōu Shiru.

Zhōu Shiru took them and said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Lè Chéng couldn’t hold back and smiled.

He had a small face, big eyes, and when he smiled, the corners of his mouth turned up, and his eyes curved, making him look sincere and adorable.

Zhōu Shiru suddenly realized that Lè Chéng’s true personality might be a bit silly and somewhat affectionate.

Lè Chéng had no idea what he was thinking. After saying goodbye to Zhōu Shiru, he wandered downstairs.

After leaving the laboratory building, Lè Chéng quickly rubbed his cheeks.

After these few days of interaction, Lè Chéng felt much more familiar with Zhōu Shiru.

As soon as he saw Zhōu Shiru’s face, Lè Chéng wouldn’t get nervous, but he was still a bit scared to act up in front of him.

It wasn’t really fear. Lè Chéng thought about it seriously—it was more like embarrassment.

Yes, embarrassment.

After all, he had no experience with relationships. Moreover, Lè Chéng didn’t like bothering others in his daily life. Even though he had a good personality and could chat with classmates and roommates, he had been too busy in his past life, with no time for socializing, so he almost never had any friends.

Lè Chéng kicked a small roadside stone with his foot.

It was a bit tricky.

He really couldn’t keep pretending.

He felt that he needed to become extremely familiar with Zhōu Shiru to the point where he could joke about it in person.

Although he could master the art of being pretentious on WeChat, doing it smoothly and effortlessly to the point of being quite annoying, they still had to meet in person. If his true personality was exposed as soon as they met, all his previous efforts would be in vain. When would Zhōu Shiru finally take the initiative to break up?

When Lè Chéng returned to the dorm, he still hadn’t figured out what to do.

Forget it, he thought.

Only Tán Xiǎobái was in the dorm. Lè Chéng greeted him.

“By the way, Lè Chéng,” Tán Xiǎobái said, “tomorrow is Saturday. Are you going out?”

They had no classes on Saturdays and Sundays. Lè Chéng was stunned; he hadn’t even realized tomorrow was Saturday.

Lè Chéng asked, “So no early class tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Tán Xiǎobái nodded.

“I’m so moved,” Lè Chéng said seriously. “Tomorrow, I’m going to spend the whole day with my beloved bed, come what may.”

Tán Xiǎobái was amused, laughing heartily, “You’re so funny, hahaha.”

Lè Chéng smiled, “What about you? Are you going out?”

“Yeah,” Tán Xiǎobái nodded, “our club president is planning to take us out for some fun, like singing and eating.”

Lè Chéng was a bit surprised, “Which club has such good benefits? I’m tempted.”

“Haha,” Tán Xiǎobái smiled mysteriously, “of course, it’s the knitting club! There are only five of us, each one like a national treasure. Our president is trying to win us over so we won’t abandon him, so he’s taking us out.”

Lè Chéng shook his head regretfully, “It’s a pity I’m too busy lately, otherwise, I would have joined too…”

Tán Xiǎobái said, “You’re welcome anytime! I even learned how to crochet a scarf recently.”

Lè Chéng admired his craftsmanship. Then he thought, maybe he should go out with Zhōu Shiru tomorrow?

After all, as a couple, according to Lè Chéng’s observation, weekends were when couples typically went out for food!

But he was quite busy.

Regardless of whether Zhōu Shiru wanted to go, he still had several drafts that weren’t even halfway done. It seemed like he would have to stay up late today.

Lè Chéng considered it. If he could get up early tomorrow, he would ask Zhōu Shiru out. If not, he would just let it be.

With this thought, Lè Chéng opened his Weibo account.

He uploaded a human figure drawing he had sketched during a boring class today and noticed a small red dot indicating a new notification.

He clicked on it and saw a comment and a follow notification.

[Youmeng123: Your figure drawing is really good, love it!]

[Youmeng123 followed you]

Lè Chéng couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

He used to practice drawing male figures a lot, and the last one he uploaded was drawn outside the basketball court while watching Zhōu Shiru play passionately. Naturally, it was drawn with simplicity and vigor.

He tapped on his phone to reply.

[Orange: Glad you like it [kiss emoji]]

As soon as the message was sent, a reply came almost instantly as if the person had been waiting.

[Youmeng123: What did you use as a reference? Any recommended software?]

Lè Chéng paused for a moment and then confidently typed:

[Orange: No, this is my exclusive male model [dog head with flower emoji]]

What’s wrong with a little playful banter?

Youmeng123 seemed to be taken aback and didn’t reply for a full two minutes.

Lè Chéng thought for a moment and then typed out his commonly used figure reference software recommendation.

[Youmeng123: Thanks, master. Wishing you and your exclusive male model all the best.]

Lè Chéng: ?

His expression went blank for a second.

No, it’s not what you think!

Well, it’s the internet, so Lè Chéng didn’t argue with Youmeng123 and logged out of the app.

It would be great if Zhōu Shiru could actually become his exclusive male model.

But that was just wishful thinking.

Sighing, Lè Chéng shook his head, took out his tablet, opened his computer, and started recording his drawing process again.

He could post the drawing process on TikTok, and the finished image could be shared on both platforms.

Lè Chéng planned to upload some small tutorials on coloring, hair, quick metallic effects, and easy folds once he gained more followers. This would help attract followers quickly.

That night, Lè Chéng worked until 3 a.m., only going to bed once he was satisfied with his finished piece.

Flat coloring a single character was quick, and since Lè Chéng was efficient and familiar with the drawing software, a single character with a simple background was easy for him. He uploaded the image to Weibo and went to sleep peacefully.

The result was—after staying up until 3 a.m., Lè Chéng unsurprisingly and gloriously overslept the next day.

When he opened his eyes, it was already 11 a.m. Dazed, he got out of bed, washed up, and grabbed his phone to message Zhōu Shiru, asking if he wanted to go out for lunch.

By the time Lè Chéng finished getting ready, he saw that Zhōu Shiru had already replied.

[Big Brother: Where to?]

Lè Chéng, now fully awake, replied, [Anywhere is fine. Are you free now?]

[Big Brother: Yes]

[Orange: Then come find me first. I’m getting dressed.]

Lè Chéng started to get dressed.

There was no movement on his phone for a while, then after a few minutes, it went “ding.”

[Big Brother: I’m waiting downstairs.]

Lè Chéng’s intention was the same, but then he belatedly realized… Would Zhōu Shiru think he was inviting him up?

If they were both straight guys, it wouldn’t matter much to change clothes in front of each other. Even if they were a close couple, changing clothes in front of each other wouldn’t be a big deal. But he and Zhōu Shiru were in that awkward in-between phase, as… not-so-familiar straight guy couple.

A strange combination, indeed.

Lè Chéng’s face reddened a bit, feeling that his words might have sounded a bit suggestive.

Oh well, he never intended to have a good image in front of Zhōu Shiru. From the start, he aimed to be annoying, so it didn’t really matter…

After getting dressed, Lè Chéng went downstairs and immediately spotted Zhōu Shiru standing by the flower bed.

Zhōu Shiru’s expression was as usual, showing no signs of being teased.

Lè Chéng comforted himself, thinking he had overthought it earlier.

“Have you been waiting long?” Lè Chéng stepped forward. “Where are we going to eat?”

Zhōu Shiru glanced at him, “What do you want to eat?”

“I’m fine with anything,” Lè Chéng said understandingly, but then thought he was being too easygoing, so he cleared his throat and added, “But I am very picky.”

Zhōu Shiru paused, “Hot pot?”

Lè Chéng looked down at his outfit and nodded happily, completely forgetting his “I’m picky” persona, “Sure, sure.”

He hadn’t had hot pot in ages!

His eagerness was written all over his face. From Zhōu Shiru’s perspective, his bright, upturned eyes seemed to be sparkling, looking both adorable and harmless.

Zhōu Shiru looked away and started walking ahead.

Lè Chéng followed him out of the school gate, unsure which hot pot restaurant nearby was good, so he focused on following Zhōu Shiru.

Zhōu Shiru clearly knew where to go. They left the gate and turned left.

Everything felt fresh to Lè Chéng as he looked around. Zhōu Shiru walked quickly, seemingly not waiting for him at all.

By the time Lè Chéng realized, he had fallen quite a distance behind Zhōu Shiru.

He hurried forward, jogging a few steps to catch up, and reached out to tug on Zhōu Shiru’s shirt to ask him to wait.

But Zhōu Shiru seemed to sense something and suddenly turned around, causing Lè Chéng’s hand to brush against his hip, almost touching his lower abdomen.

It was a very light touch, barely noticeable through the fabric.

Lè Chéng froze for a moment and looked up at Zhōu Shiru. Zhōu Shiru’s expression remained unchanged, but his brows furrowed slightly, revealing his true thoughts.

Their eyes met unexpectedly, and after a brief silence, Zhōu Shiru simply asked, “What are you doing?” Why did Lè Chéng touch him?

Was it intentional… or accidental?

Lè Chéng shook his head, “N-nothing, it’s just that you were walking too fast, and I wanted to catch up to you.”

Lè Chéng’s thin and fair earlobes showed a hint of blush. Seeing that Zhōu Shiru wasn’t saying anything, he tried to change the topic to ease the atmosphere, “Where are we going to eat?”

This was a clever move, but in Zhōu Shiru’s eyes, it almost confirmed his previous suspicion.

He subtly put some distance between himself and Lè Chéng, “Lǐ’s Authentic Hot Pot.”

Even though Lè Chéng acted naturally, it didn’t mean that Zhōu Shiru was comfortable with any intimate contact with him.

Holding hands, hugging, kissing, and having sex were all out of the question.

Lè Chéng didn’t realize what he was thinking and nodded, the suppressed craving for food resurfacing, “It sounds really authentic. How long until we get there?”

“We’ll take a taxi,” Zhōu Shiru replied, raising his hand to hail a cab.

A taxi with a green “Available” sign stopped, and Zhōu Shiru opened the front passenger door and got in.

Lè Chéng: “…”

Oh well, at least he would have more space to himself.

He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Zhōu Shiru had become colder after he accidentally touched him.

Could it be that Zhōu Shiru didn’t like being touched by others?

Lè Chéng considered it for a moment… It wasn’t entirely impossible.

Hmm… after all, the lower abdomen is a sensitive area.

As Lè Chéng was thinking this, the taxi arrived at their destination.

After getting out of the car, Lè Chéng looked at the red and oily sign and felt that it must be authentic.

It was the peak dining hour, and there were a lot of people, but it seemed Zhōu Shiru had made a reservation in advance. Lè Chéng happily followed him, collected the ticket, number 17.

Once seated, Zhōu Shiru asked him, “Do you have a preferred dipping sauce?”

Lè Chéng actually liked garlic, but it didn’t seem suitable for this occasion, so he shook his head and said, “I’m fine with anything, but I prefer sesame paste.”

Zhōu Shiru nodded and turned to the dipping sauce area.

Lè Chéng rested his chin on his hand, waiting idly for him. It wasn’t long before Zhōu Shiru came back with the sauces.

Lè Chéng noticed that the two small plates were identical.

Zhōu Shiru handed him the chopsticks.

Lè Chéng thanked him and thought that if Zhōu Shiru were just a friend, he would make a great one—very considerate.

The staff came to start the hot pot, and shortly after they ordered, the food arrived.

Once they started eating, neither of them spoke.

Lè Chéng counted the seconds before retrieving the tripe, dipping it in the sauce, and putting it in his mouth.

He didn’t know what Zhōu Shiru had added to the sauce, but it tasted better than what he had mixed himself before.

The meal left him quite full. When he couldn’t finish the last plate of meat he had ordered and was feeling conflicted, Zhōu Shiru noticed his expression and silently put the meat into the pot and ate it himself.

Lè Chéng was deeply moved.

After Zhōu Shiru finished the last bite, Lè Chéng took out his phone and saw a message from Tán Xiǎobái.

[Little White Rabbit: Where are you? Out with your boyfriend?]

[Little White Rabbit: We’re going to sing, but there aren’t enough people. Want to join us?]

Lè Chéng hesitated for a moment.

[Little White Rabbit: No need for you to chip in! Tempted?]

Poor Little Lè Chéng: “…”

Great, he was tempted.

[Orange: Sure, where are you? Let me see if it’s close by.]

[Little White Rabbit: Sending you my location]

Lè Chéng checked the location and found that it was on the way. Perfect.

[Orange: Okay, I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.]

When Lè Chéng looked up again, he saw that Zhōu Shiru had already finished eating and was patiently waiting for him.

Lè Chéng asked, “Are you done eating?”

“Yes,” Zhōu Shiru replied.

“Okay, wait a moment while I wipe my mouth.” Lè Chéng reached for some napkins that were a bit far away, and Zhōu Shiru handed them to him.

Lè Chéng took the napkin and accidentally brushed Zhōu Shiru’s fingertips.

Warm, slightly rough, with neatly trimmed nails, but not cold.

Lè Chéng suddenly remembered the saying “Warm hands and feet mean good health.”

He was baffled by his own random thoughts and quickly wiped his mouth.

Zhōu Shiru slightly furrowed his brow, rubbed his fingers, and looked at Lè Chéng. The other was lowering his eyelashes, hiding the brightness of his eyes, with the light casting a dense shadow. His eyelashes looked like little brushes, and a bit of sweat on his nose made him look damp and very obedient, oddly reminiscent of a wet puppy.

Without saying anything, Zhōu Shiru stood up. Lè Chéng finished wiping his mouth and stood up as well.

He had just taken two steps forward when Zhōu Shiru reminded him, “Your jacket.”

“Hmm?” Lè Chéng turned back to grab the jacket he had taken off due to the heat and sincerely praised him, “You have a good memory.”

“……”

Zhōu Shiru didn’t particularly feel flattered.

At the door, Lè Chéng took out his phone, intending to split the bill for the meal and the taxi fare with Zhōu Shiru.

But instead, he said, “By the way, I’m going to meet my classmates later, so I can’t go back with you.”

Zhōu Shiru turned to look at him, “Where to?”

It sounded oddly like he was checking up on him, but Lè Chéng knew that wasn’t Zhōu Shiru’s intention. He replied honestly, “To Gǔtóng Road.”

“On the way,” Zhōu Shiru said succinctly. “I’ll drop you off first.”

Lè Chéng had no objections: “Okay.”

They hailed a cab, and soon they arrived at Gǔtóng Road.

Lè Chéng got out of the car and waved at Zhōu Shiru, “Bye-bye, I’m off.”

Zhōu Shiru glanced at the miscellaneous advertising signs on the street but didn’t say much, “Hmm.”

Lè Chéng turned and left, following the directions sent by Tán Xiǎobái to find the place.

Thinking that splitting the bill in person might be awkward, he decided to do it later online. After all, he felt bolder online.

As he approached the private room door, loud music spilled out even before he opened it.

Pushing the door open, he squinted in the dim light to find Tán Xiǎobái.

“Over here!” Fortunately, Tán Xiǎobái wasn’t singing and waved at him, “Lè Chéng, you finally made it!”

Lè Chéng walked over to Tán Xiǎobái, who immediately pulled him onto the sofa. On stage, someone was singing, “Men, go ahead and cry, crying is not a sin.”

Lè Chéng: “…” He tentatively asked, “Who’s that on stage?”

“Our club president,” Tán Xiǎobái said mysteriously, “just broke up, drank two bottles of beer in one go, and now he’s drunk and acting crazy.”

Lè Chéng: “…”

He politely commented, “Impressive capacity.”

Tán Xiǎobái whispered, “Don’t worry, feel free to laugh at him loudly, I won’t tell him.”

“…”

Including Lè Chéng, there were only four people in the entire room, no wonder Tán Xiǎobái invited him over.

The club president, Xǔ Yuǎn, dragged Lè Chéng halfway through to sing a duet with him. Learning that Lè Chéng could draw, he drunkenly insisted that Lè Chéng draw a simple sketch of him and his ex-girlfriend, then burn it with a candle as a memorial to their lost love.

The other club member, Hé Zǐqīng, looked quiet and reserved, not saying much or doing anything outrageous.

When Lè Chéng finally managed to deal with the president and was ready to head back, he stood at the door hailing a cab and suddenly felt a chill on his arms.

Touching his clothes, he realized he had forgotten to take his jacket.

Tan Xiaobai was supporting the president, and Le Cheng quickly went back, only to find that the box was missing. He immediately thought it might have been left in the taxi on the way here.

If Le Cheng remembered correctly, the original owner liked to buy brand-name items, and that jacket was a branded one, worth about 1,200 yuan on Taobao.

Le Cheng’s heart was bleeding.

His 1,200 yuan had just flown away.

Tan Xiaobai reminded him, “Did you come here alone?”

Oh, right.

Le Cheng suddenly felt a glimmer of hope.

He hurriedly sent a message to Zhou Shiru.

[Orange tapped you]

[Orange: Are you asleep?]

[Orange: I just realized my jacket is missing. Did I leave it in the taxi? [crying]]

Le Cheng anxiously bit his finger and sent a crying emoji.

“Ding-dong—”

[Brother: Hmm, I’ve got it for you]

Le Cheng was instantly moved to tears; his 1,200 yuan, his 1,200 yuan was coming back!

Zhou Shiru was a thousand times more reliable!

[Orange: !!! That’s great]

[Orange: Then I can relax]

[Orange: Thank you!! You’re so reliable!! [kisses] [hugs] [fireworks]]

[Orange: Little dog spinning around.jpg]

[Orange: Love you.jpg]

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Shiru had just finished a shower. The steam was still swirling around him as he wiped his face with a towel, lowering his gaze.

It seemed like Le Cheng’s bright and round eyes flashed before him.

He seemed dazed, and his memory really wasn’t good.

[Brother: When will you be back?]

[Brother: I’ll bring it to you.]

Le Cheng, pleasantly surprised: [Sure, I should arrive at the school in about half an hour. Shall we meet downstairs at Dormitory Building 5?]

[Brother: Okay]

After sending the message, Le Cheng turned to Tan Xiaobai, who peeked over and asked, “So happy, did you find it?”

“Yes, I found it.” Le Cheng nodded.

Tan Xiaobai: “Boyfriend?”

Le Cheng felt a bit embarrassed: “…Well, I guess so.”

“Oh,” Tan Xiaobai teased, “Zhou Shiru, right? As expected, Master Zhou is reliable~”

Le Cheng made a move to hit him, and Tan Xiaobai steadied Xu Yuan, almost twisting his ankle in the process.

Once in the car, Le Cheng felt a sense of relief.

He had actually drunk a little, but Le Cheng had a good tolerance and handled alcohol well. He just felt a bit warm at the moment.

Arriving at the school, He Ziqing helped Xu Yuan away. Tan Xiaobai wanted to go buy something, so Le Cheng wandered off towards Dormitory Building 5 on his own.

Worried that Zhou Shiru might have waited too long, Le Cheng started jogging after a while. He quickly spotted Zhou Shiru by the entrance of Building 5.

Zhou Shiru, tall and casually dressed, stood out with his long legs. Le Cheng ran up to him, a bit out of breath: “H-h-how long have you been waiting…”

“Not long,” Zhou Shiru glanced at him and frowned slightly, “Why are you running?”

“I was worried you’d be waiting too long.” Le Cheng blurted out the truth without thinking.

Zhou Shiru paused, feeling a bit awkward. He said gently, “Don’t talk for now. Take a deep breath and catch your breath.”

Le Cheng followed his advice, taking a few deep breaths and feeling much better. Zhou Shiru handed him the jacket.

“Thank you,” Le Cheng took it, his voice soft, “I didn’t expect you to bring it over after getting it.”

Perhaps because of the dim lighting that made one let down their guard, Zhou Shiru said something unusual: “In the future, check your belongings before getting out of the car.”

“Mm, I understand.” Le Cheng looked up at him.

Zhou Shiru looked down, unsure of what Le Cheng had been up to or if the spiciness from the hot pot was still affecting him. In the dim light, Le Cheng’s lips were a full, bright red, his face small, and his nose slightly damp.

This impression made Zhou Shiru see Le Cheng as a bit dazed and somewhat obedient.

Le Cheng was also looking at him.

There were originally two streetlights, but one was broken. Zhou Shiru stood under a tree, with the light and shadows casting patterns on his straight nose and light-colored lips.

Zhou Shiru had a pleasant scent of shower gel, something hard to describe—slightly cool and very fresh, as if he had just taken a shower. His loose shirt revealed his muscle lines.

Le Cheng suddenly had a wild idea.

A phrase he had seen on TikTok flashed through his mind: “Actually, people who work out are very generous and are quite willing to let others touch their muscles.”

Perhaps the alcohol had given him false courage; his rationality was burning, making crackling sounds like small sparks.

He suddenly spoke up: “Um, can I touch them?”

Zhou Shiru was clearly taken aback: “?”

Le Cheng’s voice was a bit louder, and he cleared his throat: “I mean… can I touch your muscles?”