Chapter 41

Yang Yunran didn’t originally have that intention.

As soon as Jiang Yi mentioned it, he took the bait, his gaze involuntarily dropping, sparking a flicker of excitement, but he seemed a bit conflicted: “Did you see the doctor today? What did they say?”

“I didn’t go today.” Jiang Yi gently put his hand back in place, avoiding topics that would upset him, such as the “study companion guy.”

Jiang Yi started the car, and Yang Yunran sat obediently beside him: “It’s really rare for you to let me touch you voluntarily. Hey, what if you react to my touch?” he said in a tone like a neglected newlywed wife.

Jiang Yi: “I’ll handle it myself.”

Yang Yunran: “…”

“It seems you still haven’t recovered.” Yang Yunran thought it might be more enjoyable to pet a dog. He lightly placed his hand on Harry, who had poked his head over, and added, “Can you drive a bit faster? I need to hurry back home for a meeting.”

“Okay.” Jiang Yi increased the speed within safe limits, and they quickly arrived home.

Yang Yunran sat cross-legged on the sofa, using an adjustable table to hold his laptop, and joined a Zoom meeting with his classmates.

With one hand on the keyboard, he waved to Jiang Yi, who had just come out of the bathroom after washing his hands: “Come over here.”

The room was dimly lit, but the screen illuminated Yang Yunran’s fair face.

Jiang Yi: “Did you turn on the camera?”

“The microphone and camera are both off. I’ll turn them on when it’s my turn to speak.” Next to Yang Yunran’s laptop was a tablet, with a PPT opened on it.

An Indian classmate’s voice came through the laptop speakers.

Yang Yunran got distracted listening to it. When Jiang Yi came over, he reached out his hand and said, “My hand is a bit cold, don’t mind.”

Jiang Yi: “Okay.” He then sat next to him, confirming that his microphone and camera were off. He locked the screen to prevent Yang Yunran from accidentally touching them.

“So cautious? Are you afraid we’ll become the PDF scandal of the North American student circle?” Yang Yunran lightly hooked the hem of Jiang Yi’s shirt with his index finger, exposing some skin. “It won’t happen.”

Jiang Yi’s body tensed uncontrollably, his abs hard as stone. Yang Yunran poked them and felt better, his mood subtly improving: “Can you relax a bit? It’s like I’m forcing you.”

Jiang Yi lowered his eyes: “I can’t relax.”

Yang Yunran noticed out of the corner of his eye that the drawstring on Jiang Yi’s gray sweatpants was tied very tightly.

“Why did you tie your drawstring in a dead knot? Afraid I’d reach in?” Yang Yunran said, pressing his whole hand against Jiang Yi’s skin. Jiang Yi closed his eyes, his voice becoming hoarse: “Your classmate… Mohammad is talking about something important. Listen.”

“I’m listening,” Yang Yunran’s fingers slid down a bit, feeling some slightly prickly stubble. He sensed it for a few seconds. “Hmm, just shaved? It’s prickly. But how did you know his name is Mohammed?”

“It’s written on the screen.” Jiang Yi seemed very uncomfortable, his brows tightly furrowed.

In the dim light, Yang Yunran discovered something incredible: “No way, less than a minute and you’re like this… Brother, you don’t actually have a problem, do you? Is your problem that you react to any touch? Even just holding hands? Does this happen with anyone?” He seemed curious, his eyes bright.

Jiang Yi said no: “Not just anyone.” He opened his eyes, his long eyelashes falling, his breathing much heavier.

On the computer, the Indian classmate continued talking.

Yang Yunran pushed away the mobile table, rubbing with his five fingers: “Can I go lower?”

Jiang Yi shook his head: “No.”

Yang Yunran wasn’t one to back down: “Can I go higher?”

Jiang Yi: “No… Are you listening to your classmate?”

“Yes, I’m recording it. If I don’t remember, I can listen to it again later.”

Jiang Yi said: “I’ll remember it for you, no need to watch the recording. He’s saying a lot of nonsense.”

Yang Yunran’s eyes widened: “Your brain is really useful, you can even understand Indian English in this situation.”

“Yes, my brain is very useful,” Jiang Yi acknowledged, glancing at his screen, “Your professor is speaking now, listen carefully.”

Yang Yunran responded with an “oh,” still looking at him, but Jiang Yi turned his face towards the desk.

Jiang Yi’s other hand pulled back the mobile table, his low voice saying: “I’ll turn on the light, it’s too dark in here, bad for your eyes.”

He removed Yang Yunran’s fingers because he was about to overheat.

Jiang Yi turned on the light.

The sticky, dense atmosphere on the sofa, which seemed to exclude any extraneous presence, dissipated slightly in the sufficient lighting.

Jiang Yi’s T-shirt was somewhat wrinkled, especially at the hem. He asked: “Feeling better now?”

Yang Yunran nodded: “Just give me two or three minutes?”

Jiang Yi said: “Actually, it was five minutes.”

“Then I’m not feeling good again. Come over here.” Yang Yunran beckoned, “Don’t just stand there, come on.”

Yang Yunran looked at him standing far away and said, “I won’t touch you, I just want a hug.”

Only then did Jiang Yi walk over to him. His professor had already finished speaking briefly, and a white female classmate was now speaking, whose pronunciation was much more comfortable to listen to.

Yang Yunran rested his head on Jiang Yi’s shoulder, his gaze shifting from the screen, briefly glancing down: “I wouldn’t mind if you hit me while you’re beside me.”

“As a matter of etiquette, I won’t do that,” Jiang Yi said politely.

Yang Yunran chuckled: “Heh heh.”

“You’re doing it again?” Jiang Yi adjusted his posture to make Yang Yunran more comfortable.

Yang Yunran seemed not to be listening carefully, commenting on Jiang Yi’s chest muscles: “You’re very tense, your chest is also rock hard, and your heartbeat is very fast.” Yang Yunran felt his heartbeat and moved his ear closer to listen. “It’s faster and heavier than mine.”

Jiang Yi felt as if his heart was being scratched by a cat’s paw, and he said with downcast eyes, “That’s because I’m the one being tormented, not you.”

“Do you define my actions as torment?” Yang Yunran raised his eyebrows, his dark eyes sparkling. “You let me touch you, it’s not like I initiated it. I’m being kind to you, don’t be ungrateful. Besides, it’s normal for couples to touch each other. You’re the only one who’s… weird. Sometimes I really can’t help but suspect you’re a straight guy pretending to be gay.”

Jiang Yi’s heart skipped a beat.

Jiang Yi pursed his lips: “The fact that I’m weird means your ex never resisted when you did this? Wait, is his body better than mine?”

It probably wasn’t, since he didn’t think the study companion guy looked like he had a muscular build. But there could be other men.

“No one is better than you.” Yang Yunran didn’t want to inflate his ego, but he had to admit that Jiang Yi’s body was top-notch, which made him very satisfied.

He didn’t want Jiang Yi to misunderstand and think he had many exes, so he said, “Actually, I’ve only ever liked you. I’ve only ever done this with you. I haven’t been this close with anyone else, I mean, this kind of… intimate behavior.”

Jiang Yi’s heart skipped a beat.

Yang Yunran’s words were still questionable in their truthfulness, but when he heard them, he was still moved, a warm feeling spreading from his heart.

But this wasn’t the right time to discuss love during class.

Jiang Yi said, “You’re up next to speak.”

Jiang Yi’s non-response, or rather his avoidant personality, made Yang Yunran feel sad. He decided to test his reaction: “In return for you being ‘tormented’ by me, I can let you ‘torment’ me too, but after my meeting.”

Jiang Yi looked down at him: “What do you mean?”

“Literally… I’m about to turn on the camera and microphone. Please stand up and move the reflector in front of me.” Yang Yunran pointed the camera at himself, tidying up his appearance to ensure he looked presentable, to avoid being screenshot by his Chinese classmates.

Jiang Yi moved the reflector in front of him, stood up, and walked behind the dining table, temporarily leaving the room.

Even though he left, he didn’t miss a word of the entire discussion, accurately remembering every detail, except for the few seconds when Yang Yunran tried to make a move on his gray sweatpants.

Jiang Yi looked down at his tented pants, trying to calm down.

He calmed down quickly, clearing his mind of distractions.

Yang Yunran had prepared in advance, casting a PowerPoint on the screen. His speech was fluent and his pronunciation standard, speaking eloquently.

The whole process lasted about fifteen minutes. After the professor finished speaking, it was another classmate’s turn.

Jiang Yi didn’t go near him, instead refilling the Samoyed’s water, reading literature on his phone, and attending to his own tasks.

Around ten o’clock in the evening, the two-hour video meeting ended. Yang Yunran exited the video, stretched lazily, and got off the sofa to walk around a bit.

Jiang Yi: “Finished?”

“I still have to write a summary later.” Yang Yunran moved his laptop to the dining table island, facing him, asking Jiang Yi to come help him review.

The two of them studied peacefully and harmoniously for about an hour. At three minutes to eleven, Harry fussed at the door, whimpering to go out.

Yang Yunran: “Did you give him water while I was in the meeting?”

“I gave him milk,” Jiang Yi said. “I thought Harry was thirsty.”

Yang Yunran: “He loves milk the most…” He looked helpless. “Now we have to walk the dog.”

The night wind was cool, so he put on a shirt as a jacket and went out with Jiang Yi.

In the deserted park, Yang Yunran hooked the leash on a tree branch, elegantly bent over, and invited Jiang Yi to dance, tilting his head: “Didn’t you want to learn? I’ll teach you now, and there’s no one around. Dear Evan, will you dance with me?”

Having already practiced at home, Jiang Yi agreed, giving him his hand, and they clasped them together: “I seem to have learned the male steps.”

Yang Yunran: “Male steps, female steps, they’re almost the same. I’ll follow you with the female steps. You won’t step on me this time, will you?”

“No.”

“If you step on me, I’ll have to punish you.”

Jiang Yi lowered his head, his hair fluttering lightly in the night breeze: “I won’t.”

Yang Yunran held his shoulders, looking up slightly to meet his dark eyes.

Jiang Yi always looked very calm, his eyes like a serene lake. When he was emotional, they became deeper, like a deep pool.

Yang Yunran was amazed: “How long did you practice at home? You’re doing great, you’re not stepping on me anymore. I was waiting to punish you.”

The night wind was gentle, and Jiang Yi lowered his head: “What kind of punishment? I’ll consider whether to give you the chance.”

Yang Yunran hugged him: “I haven’t decided, because I’m very happy right now.” He rested his chin on Jiang Yi’s shoulder.

Jiang Yi said, “Does dancing make you happier than touching my abs?”

“Both make me happy.” As they spun around the park’s square, Yang Yunran said, “Right now, my dopamine is surging. What about you?”

Jiang Yi paused for a few seconds and said, “Me too.”

Yang Yunran lifted his chin: “Why?”

Jiang Yi replied, “Because… my neurons are receiving excitatory signals, dopamine vesicles are fusing with the neuronal cell membrane, releasing dopamine into my synaptic cleft…”

Yang Yunran interrupted, “Stop.”

Yang Yunran continued, “That’s not what I wanted to hear.”

“What do you want to hear?” Jiang Yi asked.

Yang Yunran replied, “What do you think I want to hear?”

Various answers flashed through Jiang Yi’s mind before he finally said, “Dancing with you… makes me very happy.” His voice carried a hint of uncertainty, a hesitance born from his infrequent expressions of emotion.

“I like hearing that,” Yang Yunran said. “Though it’s not the standard answer.” He intentionally stepped on Jiang Yi’s foot, then leaned close to his ear: “Sorry, I accidentally stepped on you. You can punish me. How would you like to do it?”

Jiang Yi sensed a different implication in his words and initially thought of saying, “I can stay up with you to finish your paper tonight.” But he swallowed those words back.

Unable to say anything flirtatious, he turned the question back to Yang Yunran: “For example?”