Chapter 11: Actual Facts

1021st Floor:

What’s going on? A twist within a twist?

1022nd Floor:

Is OP going crazy or something…

1023rd Floor:

Wow, a sudden split personality, imagining a boyfriend.

1024th Floor:

Can you guys stop? It’s getting creepy.

1025th Floor (OP):

Can everyone please refrain from commenting for now? I don’t want OP to find out about this yet. I’ll delete the things I posted before he wakes up.

Hmph! Since he thinks he doesn’t have a boyfriend, then so be it!

I’m actually quite angry. I had already planned how I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, but in his heart, I’m not even his boyfriend…

So — don’t think he can cheer me up in just one or two days!

… At least give it three days!

For now, let’s call him z. Right now, looking at him, I’m both annoyed and amused. As soon as he’s not with me, he learns how to get drunk.

We got together at the end of last semester, which might not match your timeline, right? Because he said he confessed for the first time on that day, and I had a hard time rejecting him.

But the truth is, I had already agreed to be with him before that. Yes, it was the day before I went home, the day our dorm went out for a meal.

His memory is correct up to that point, but after he got drunk, it’s all fragmented for him. He even said that if I got drunk and had memory gaps, I could be tricked. Ironically, he’s the one who gets memory gaps when he’s drunk…

Although I don’t have a good tolerance for alcohol, I remembered everything clearly. When he coaxed me by calling me his wife, I was very clear-minded. Saying I’m willing to accept it was something I said consciously, not because I was drunk.

I really like him; he genuinely cares about me. Whether it’s birthday gifts or places he takes me to, they all match my preferences. His kindness to me doesn’t go unnoticed.

I knew I had a low tolerance for alcohol, but that day, I wanted to drink because I was exceptionally happy, and he was right beside me.

After we cleaned up, I was planning to sleep, but he seemed wide awake, clingy, asking if I liked him, if I was his wife. Although I couldn’t accept his confession, acknowledging those two points didn’t seem wrong, especially since they’re true.

I got carried away again… Since I’ve mentioned this much, let me explain why I initially agreed but kept denying later.

1026th Floor:

… I think I’ve guessed it; it’s probably related to drinking.

1027th Floor:

Didn’t OP say he got drunk that day? Oh, there’s a story.

1028th Floor:

Stay away from alcohol; it leads to misfortune.

1029th Floor:

Everyone, don’t post anymore. When OP wakes up and sees so many comments deleted, they might get suspicious!

1030th Floor:

Alright, stopping from my end! No more talk! Let two or three representatives speak!

1031st Floor (OP):

Thank you, everyone~ I’ll continue.

At the beginning, the part he talked about pretty much matches my account. We had four people in our dorm, so it naturally formed two pairs who were closer. It might have started because he’s good-looking, but more importantly, it was his everyday behavior and way of speaking that gave me a good impression.

Being with him was comfortable, a completely relaxed state, and we rarely had arguments.

In the first semester of our freshman year, we were more than friends but not quite lovers. As we spent more time together during the second semester, I realized how wonderful he was. It’s just like what he said, love starts without warning, and then it’s deep…

Having such a handsome guy around you every day, taking care of you everywhere, and treating you so well…

Well… I couldn’t resist, and I started liking him slowly…

Of course, I also tested if he was truly heterosexual. The result of my test was that he hadn’t been in a relationship before, but he believes that if he likes someone, he likes them, regardless of gender.

That time he returned to the dorm, and the time when I gave him warm milk, that’s when he started liking me. By then, I had already developed feelings for him for a while. So, when I saw that flavor of milk, I bought it without even thinking. I guess that’s what it’s like when you like someone — you immediately associate things with them.

I didn’t experience the pain of unrequited love like most people, because I could sense that his feelings for me went beyond just friendship. Originally, I planned to take a more proactive role after a while, but I didn’t anticipate this opportunity would make him figure things out so suddenly.

After that, he started his “slow boiling the frog” approach.

I put that in quotation marks because that’s how he thought about it, but from my perspective, it was already boiling water.

I remember seeing something online about unrequited love. It asked, “When you have a crush on someone, do they feel it?” The response was, “Do you not feel the heat when you’re next to a fire?”

I don’t know about others, but in my case, I can clearly feel it. His emotions were always outwardly displayed; after he decided to pursue me, his fervor was unrestrained.

Every day he’d ask about my well-being, and he’d occasionally give me small gifts. Our classrooms were usually not in the same building, so he’d walk me to class and pick me up afterward.

Basically, he went all out to be good to me, employing all the tactics of someone pursuing another.

At the time, I was thinking, if he’s pursuing me this intensely, wouldn’t it disrupt his plans if I confessed first? To avoid making him feel defeated, I decided to follow his rhythm.

During a short vacation, I took him to my home. Before we left, I told my family group chat that I was going to be in a relationship and it was going to be with a guy.

They accepted it well and jokingly asked who the lucky guy was. I told them about the situation at the time and mentioned that I’d introduce z to them during the break.

So z came to my house, and my family liked him. Just like he said, I asked my parents what they’d do if a guy wanted to pursue me.

My parents were taken aback for a moment; after all, they really liked c and had even started considering him as their future son-in-law. They thought maybe z lacked confidence, so they assured him that as long as I liked him, they completely agreed.

Then my sister, like an audience member in a drama, intensely hinted to him to make a move. But he didn’t grasp my sister’s intention; he was just anxious.

This continued until the end of the second semester of our sophomore year. We went out for a meal with our dorm mates. He was drinking there, taking sips and looking at me. At the time, I thought he had some sort of teenage troubles; I only just found out he was actually envious.

I told him to drink less, and he agreed. But he accidentally started drinking again when he wasn’t paying attention. He didn’t realize it himself, and every time he caught me looking at him, he’d suddenly become aware.

After he got drunk, he hugged me tightly and kept nuzzling against me, calling me his wife. Although we hadn’t officially defined our relationship, everyone could see the interactions between us, and it was an unspoken understanding.

With him calling me that way, I agreed. Then he repeatedly mumbled, asking if I could be his boyfriend.

At the time, one of our roommates brought his girlfriend along, also from our school. She knew about us and teased z about whether he wanted a wife or a boyfriend.

Z didn’t answer her and just kept pestering me with the question. Our relationship had already surpassed mere window paper, and it had become transparent as rice paper. So, I didn’t hesitate and agreed.

But after I agreed, z got upset and asked me not to accept him.

I asked him why, and he stumbled through an explanation. Summing it up, he thought that if I accepted his confession too easily, he might get duped due to his naiveté. I needed to firmly reject him and make him pursue me a bit more!

I asked him if he would deceive me, and he said he wouldn’t. I knew that even if he didn’t say it; he’s just not that kind of person.

I told him, “If you won’t deceive me, then I won’t need to reject you.”

He still didn’t agree and insisted that I reject him. Eventually, I couldn’t resist his “persistence” and agreed.

However, in my mind, from that moment on, he was already my boyfriend. His pursuit was just a playful act for us, given our prior connection.

After we dispersed, I took him back to the dorm. Early the next morning, both our roommates had left. As soon as he woke up and before I was ready, he confessed to me again.

Initially, I was planning to ask if he remembered what happened last night, but the first thing he did upon waking up was confess. So, naturally, I assumed he remembered.

Perhaps because the atmosphere between us was so comfortable, being looked at by his gentle and passionate eyes, I couldn’t help blushing.

Then, not knowing how to decline, he gave me an out, and I followed his lead. He joked, and I didn’t feel offended; I thought making jokes like that shouldn’t be a big deal.

His jokes were different from others. For instance, when he gave me gifts, he’d initially present something he thought was small, only to tell me after I accepted it that it was just a joke. Then he’d give me the actual “big gift” he prepared.

For me, his “jokes” meant that the real excitement was yet to come, and I should look forward to it.

Then he said those things, believing that I hadn’t understood his intentions, that I thought he was always joking.

Who wouldn’t understand? Our interactions completely reflected a romantic relationship. Only he, in his simple way, perceived it as a strong friendship.

At that time, our roommate’s girlfriend accompanied us. She asked for my opinion, wondering if we should let everyone know. Since the two of us were particularly popular and received attention from both genders and sometimes received confessions from guys as well, she thought this would save us from a lot of trouble.

I agreed and even suggested that he share what z said about wanting more time to pursue me with everyone, so as to avoid misunderstandings about our relationship.

So, that’s why he got drunk today. He felt I had a boyfriend now, and he considered our relationship purely a brotherly bond.

Seriously! What kind of brother acts like this? I’m not that kind of scumbag!

He even went to the confession wall!

Basically, most people who follow school gossip know about our relationship, and even those who aren’t interested in romantic gossip have heard something from someone else. After all, my roommate’s girlfriend is the vice president of the student council, so her social network is wide, not to mention the rumor mill.

As for why I didn’t doubt it, because the way he pursued me, and how he treated me, was no different from having a boyfriend. He treated me really well, so there was never any doubt about our relationship, not even from me.

But today, I learned that he still had this pursuit in his heart! And it was just earlier that he was plaintively telling me not to date others and even bemoaning that he won’t have the chance to post on his thread again. That’s when I pieced it all together…

He thought—why else would we be living together outside if it weren’t for a romantic interest? How could it possibly be just friendship? I wanted to live with a boyfriend! I wanted to hold hands and hug with a boyfriend!!!

Ah ah ah ah! The more I say, the angrier I get. After explaining everything clearly to him when he wakes up, I’m going to start getting mad!

You all better not tell him…

I can’t be appeased in just a day or two!

Now I can’t even sleep. I’ll explain those things he said in more detail later.

1032l

…In a crazy way, I feel the OP deserves this?

1033l

Although it’s quite miserable, the OP did… Yeah…

1034l

Knocking on the door for more. Can’t sleep without finishing this. With the combination of what the OP said and c’s explanation, it feels like a completely different world…

1035l

Sealed—

Quietly waiting for the next wave of storytelling.