Chapter 14

When considering everything comprehensively, Mu Chi was actually a competent boyfriend. He remembered Song Wenzhou’s likes and dislikes, but he wouldn’t ignore his health just because Song Wenzhou liked something.

Although Mu Chi appeared unreliable most of the time, when he was attentive, no one could compare.

—

Back in the second year of high school, when Song Wenzhou had stomach pain and had to go to the hospital in the middle of the night, Ren Suyi had asked for a few days off for him to rest at home and recover.

He returned to school on Wednesday afternoon, as Wednesday night self-study was his favorite math class.

He hadn’t told his roommates beforehand, so when Song Wenzhou arrived at the dorm and knocked on the door for a while, he realized no one was inside.

That night, when Mu Chi had carried him to the hospital, he had even worn Mu Chi’s jacket, as he had brought nothing home except for his pajamas and pants. His keys, naturally, were still in the dorm.

Now that no one was in the dorm, Song Wenzhou had no choice but to go downstairs and ask the dorm aunt to lend him the spare key.

However, he was met with resistance from the dorm aunt.

At first, Song Wenzhou explained why he needed the key, and the aunt had opened the cupboard to find it. But when the dorm aunt asked which dorm he was from, and he answered “402,” the aunt immediately closed the cupboard.

“No,” the aunt sat back at her post, “You guys from 402 have borrowed keys too many times. I told you before that I wouldn’t lend them to you anymore, so you don’t keep forgetting.”

“Ah?” Song Wenzhou was momentarily confused. “But this is my first time borrowing it.”

“You all say it’s the first time every time,” the aunt clearly didn’t believe him. “I keep a record, and 402 is the dorm that borrows the most.”

Song Wenzhou didn’t need to guess; the previous times were most likely Mu Chi’s doing. He blinked his eyes and said, “Auntie, that was my roommate borrowing, this is really my first time.”

“I don’t care,” the aunt was not fooled by his appearance and firmly refused, “Go find your roommate for the key.”

“I don’t know where they are…” Song Wenzhou tried to act pitiful.

The aunt quickly caught on and, with a “cruel” smile, said, “They won’t be leaving the school. The school is so small, just look around and you’ll find them.”

“Okay,” Song Wenzhou gave up, “Sorry for troubling you, Auntie.”

Song Wenzhou turned around and left the dorm building, dialing Mu Chi’s phone number as he went.

The phone rang for a long time before it was picked up, and Mu Chi’s slightly out of breath voice came through: “Hello, Zhouzhou, what’s up?”

Since that night when Ren Suyi called Song Wenzhou “Zhouzhou,” Mu Chi had also started calling him by his nickname. At first, Song Wenzhou found it awkward, but after spending a few days at home and receiving numerous messages and voice notes from Mu Chi, he had gradually gotten used to it.

“Where are you guys?” Song Wenzhou asked directly.

“We’re playing basketball on the court.”

Song Wenzhou said, “Oh,” and then added, “I’ll come find you.”

“Hm?” Mu Chi paused for two seconds before realizing, “You’re back at school? Come to the southwest corner of the basketball court.”

Song Wenzhou rushed to the southwest corner of the basketball court, and in the crowd, he immediately spotted Mu Chi running across the court.

Mu Chi wore loose summer school pants on the lower half of his body, but on top, he didn’t have on his school jacket, just a white sleeveless T-shirt that revealed his well-defined biceps.

Their class’s last lesson on Wednesday afternoon was physical education, and Mu Chi and his group had probably been playing basketball since their free time, all of them covered in sweat.

Mu Chi’s slightly curled hair was tousled by the wind created by his movement, his eyes focused intently on the basketball, with a small patch of his collar damp, and a thin layer of sweat on his skin, giving him a very healthy complexion.

Many students were gathered around the court, watching, and Song Wenzhou glanced around, noticing that many of them were unfamiliar, likely students from other classes, including a few female students.

“Girls these days really love sports,” Song Wenzhou thought to himself.

Song Wenzhou had played basketball a few times with his three roommates, so unlike the others, he didn’t just stand on the side watching. He walked confidently over to the stone steps where they usually left their belongings and sat down.

The stone steps were connected to a wire fence, and Song Wenzhou relaxed against it, watching them play, waiting for Mu Chi to finish so he could get the key from him and go back to unlock the door.

There were a lot of people on the court, but Song Wenzhou’s attention was always involuntarily drawn to Mu Chi—Mu Chi running, Mu Chi passing, Mu Chi dribbling past opponents… so vivid and powerful.

Song Wenzhou couldn’t help but recall that night when he was lying on Mu Chi’s back, clearly feeling the tension and relaxation of Mu Chi’s muscles as he moved, and his chest, pressed against Mu Chi’s back, could even sense the rapid heartbeat due to Mu Chi’s exhaustion.

At that moment, Mu Chi’s hands were supporting his thighs while dribbling, and to prevent him from slipping, he occasionally shook him upward.

Suddenly, a round of cheers erupted from the side of the court. Song Wenzhou snapped back to reality, and saw Mu Chi standing behind the three-point line, his arms raised high, holding the pose for the shot. The basketball flew smoothly through the opponent’s hoop.

Song Wenzhou listened to the cheers from the surrounding students, his gaze fixed firmly on Mu Chi.

Mu Chi on the court seemed unaware of how impressive his move was. Calmly, he slapped hands with Qi Ling, who was running toward him, then turned without pause to get ready for defense.

However, halfway through his turn, Mu Chi noticed Song Wenzhou sitting at the sidelines. He stopped and raised one eyebrow, loudly calling out, “Desk mate, did you see my three-pointer? Wasn’t it cool?”

“…”

Song Wenzhou nodded. He knew Mu Chi’s previous calmness was an act. It didn’t take long for him to start showing off.

But Song Wenzhou had to admit, Mu Chi did a good job of pretending.

And, indeed, it was a little cool.

This wasn’t the first time Song Wenzhou had seen Mu Chi play basketball, but this was the first time he thought Mu Chi looked especially charismatic on the court, making him, like the girls around him, unable to take his eyes off of him.

After the first half of the game, both teams took a short break.

Mu Chi lifted his shirt slightly to fan himself and took several big steps toward Song Wenzhou.

Sitting on the stone steps, Song Wenzhou was much shorter than Mu Chi, so his gaze fell right on the small section of Mu Chi’s exposed waist.

The young man’s waist was firm and lean, with the outline of his abdominal muscles faintly visible. His skin had a healthy glow from the sweat, with beads of sweat even trailing down and following the contours of his skin, finally disappearing into the waistband of his pants, absorbed by the fabric.

Song Wenzhou quickly shifted his gaze, pursing his lips and saying, “What are you doing…”

“Hm?” Mu Chi bent down to grab the bottle of mineral water beside Song Wenzhou. “Drinking water.”

Song Wenzhou: “…”

If you’re just going to drink water, why do you have to stand so close to him?

Song Wenzhou shifted his body slightly to the side.

Mu Chi gave him a puzzled look, twisted the cap off the bottle, and drank several large gulps.

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed, and Song Wenzhou clutched the hem of his shirt, not daring to look any longer. He suddenly felt thirsty as well, but he didn’t have any water with him, so he could only lick his lips.

Mu Chi noticed his movement and asked, “Do you want some?”

Before Song Wenzhou could respond, Mu Chi shook his head and said, “This is iced water, I can’t give it to you.”

Song Wenzhou stopped himself from nodding and stiffly said, “I don’t want any.”

“Oh.” Mu Chi then twisted the bottle cap back on and placed it back, lifting his T-shirt to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

Now, the complete shape of his abs was clearly visible in front of Song Wenzhou. He took a deep breath, his heart racing faster.

In that brief moment, Song Wenzhou faintly smelled Mu Chi’s scent, carrying an unbearable heat.

“Can you move away from me?” Song Wenzhou gritted his teeth.

Mu Chi put down his shirt, stared at him with wide eyes, and said with a hint of grievance, “What’s wrong with me? Why are you so disgusted?”

Song Wenzhou: “…It’s too hot.”