23

Su Bai wore the new clothes Lin Xiao picked for him and looked like a cool, stylish guy.

Just by appearance, no one could imagine that this handsome young man had the soul of an old, disciplined cadre…

After the last class, Su Bai walked with Lin Xiao to the cafeteria, carrying his backpack.

Lin Xiao stretched and said, “Tomorrow’s Sunday, time to sleep in.”

Su Bai suddenly looked up. “Oh right, I promised a senior we’d go watch a movie on Sunday.”

Lin Xiao was instantly struck dumb, like he’d been hit by lightning. “…Watch a movie? Which senior are you going with?”

Su Bai tilted his head, thinking for a moment before answering, “A few days ago, we were working on props for the arts performance until ten. He gave me a ride back to the dorm, and you were downstairs too. You even talked to him.”

“Nonsense! I was planning to pick you up that day! Didn’t expect someone to beat me to it!” Lin Xiao thought of that day and fumed, “Just you two?”

Su Bai looked completely serious, as if he didn’t see anything wrong. “Yeah, I heard the movie is really good.”

Lin Xiao paused for a moment, then asked, “Why didn’t you ask if I wanted to go?”

Su Bai’s face lit up with excitement. “You want to go? I invited you out a few times before, but you always turned me down. I thought you didn’t like hanging out with me…”

Lin Xiao, still traumatized by the Xinhai Revolution Memorial, rubbed his face in frustration. “Actually, I do like hanging out with you.”

Su Bai, overjoyed, replied, “Great! Then tomorrow, the three of us can go together. It’ll be more fun with more people!”

Lin Xiao: …

More fun, my foot!

Su Bai waved his hand in front of his face. “What’s wrong with you?”

Lin Xiao glared at the oblivious little fool. “…Can’t we just go without him?”

Su Bai hesitated. “But he’s already bought the tickets.”

Lin Xiao was even more upset. “Did he ask you out first?”

Su Bai, completely clueless, nodded. “Yeah.”

Lin Xiao gritted his teeth in frustration, grabbing Su Bai’s head with both hands to make him look at him. “You shouldn’t have agreed to it! Why did you say yes? What’s going on in that wooden head of yours?”

Su Bai jumped in surprise but tried to explain seriously, “The senior said he really wanted to see the movie but couldn’t find anyone to go with him. He felt awkward going alone, so he asked me to go with him, just as a favor. I think, as classmates, we should help each other out, so I…”

Lin Xiao nearly wanted to throw his head back and scream to the sky. “Are you stupid or what?!”

Su Bai, a little scared, looked at him. “I’m not stupid.”

Lin Xiao was bouncing with anger. “He’s trying to hit on you! Can’t you see that?!”

Su Bai laughed. “Impossible, the senior isn’t gay.”

Lin Xiao’s eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head. “How do you know he’s not?”

Su Bai widened his eyes, looking completely innocent. “He said so himself. He asked me if I was gay, and I told him I’m not. Then he said, ‘Well, then I’m not either.'”

Lin Xiao sucked in a sharp breath. “Don’t you think there’s something wrong with what he said?”

Su Bai couldn’t quite follow the logic. “No…?”

Lin Xiao was so furious he almost wanted to bite Su Bai’s face. “And another thing! You just said you’re not gay? What does that even mean?”

You bent me, and then you just went back straight on your own?!”

Su Bai’s face flushed bright red, and he looked down at his toes, speaking quickly and softly, as if reciting a lesson:

“Being gay means having romantic and sexual attraction only to the same sex. Only people with this orientation can be called gay. But for me… first, I’ve only had romantic and sexual feelings for you. Second, I’ve never felt that way for any other man, and I never will. Third, even if one day you suddenly turned into a woman, I’d still feel the same way about you.

To sum up, my situation doesn’t fully meet the criteria of ‘gay’, so I don’t think I am.”

That was truly well-reasoned.

And even with a ‘to sum up’!

Lin Xiao was so shaken by this insane, yet somehow adorable confession that all his anger just vanished into thin air. He slightly lowered his head, staring at Su Bai, unable to stop smiling. The two of them gazed at each other, hearts racing and faces flushed, as if the world itself had come to a standstill.

After a while, Lin Xiao suddenly lowered his voice and asked, “What did you just say you felt for me? What was it?”

Su Bai paused for a moment, lowering his head and twisting the hem of his clothes with his fingers. “I… that was… just a definition, it’s written like that in the definition.”

Lin Xiao let out a muffled, teasing laugh. “Heh.”

Su Bai cautiously asked, “Then… should we still invite the senior tomorrow? If you don’t like it, I can tell him I’m not going, and we can go just the two of us.”

Lin Xiao thought for a moment, a sudden idea flashing through his mind. “It’s fine, let him come along.”

Su Bai obediently replied, “Alright.”

Lin Xiao glanced at the clothes Su Bai was wearing. “Wear the outfit I gave you tomorrow.”

Su Bai nodded. “Alright.”

Lin Xiao chuckled smugly twice.

He bought two sets of that outfit—one in Su Bai’s size and one in his own. He hadn’t worn it since buying them.

Couple’s outfits? Perfect for a show-off moment, blinding the eyes of his rivals.

Damn it, this little retard is mine!