Chapter 65: Attending Class Together

That night, Lin Hexi didn’t stay over at You Chong’s place.

The next morning, You Chong came downstairs and knocked on his door, asking him to go to school together.

Upon learning that You Chong also had a class in the morning, Lin Hexi casually said, “Send me a copy of your class schedule.”

They were sitting in a breakfast shop in the university town when he said this. You Chong pulled up Lin Hexi’s account from his WeChat list and sent over the schedule. “What do you need it for?”

Lin Hexi looked down to accept the schedule, and he said with lazy tone, “It’s not useful now, but you never know when it might come in handy.”

After speaking, he sent his own class schedule to You Chong and looked up with a smile, “To be fair, I’ve sent you mine too.”

You Chong saved and bookmarked it, then casually asked, “How long is the lease on your place?”

Lin Hexi replied, “Until the year I graduate from senior year.”

You Chong nodded nonchalantly, “Find some time to sublet it.”

Lin Hexi paused slightly, then caught on to the deeper meaning behind his words, and a smile spread in his eyes. “Are you planning to clear out the side bedroom for me to stay in?”

You Chong was momentarily speechless. “Have you ever seen a couple move in together and sleep in separate rooms?”

Lin Hexi’s gaze toward him gradually became more complex. “I thought you might need some time to adjust.”

You Chong raised his eyebrows, puzzled. “Adjust to what?”

Lin Hexi replied with a teasing tone, “Adjusting to the sudden change in your sexual orientation.”

You Chong’s expression didn’t shift at all. “It’s not like we haven’t slept together before.”

The image of them sharing a bed in the seaside hotel flashed in Lin Hexi’s mind, his eyes clear and bright. “That was different.”

You Chong lifted his eyelids and asked, “What’s different?”

Lin Hexi stared at him intently. “Our relationship was different, and you hadn’t fallen for me yet.”

You Chong wanted to refute him.

But when he caught a glimpse of the playful glimmer in Lin Hexi’s eyes, he suddenly realized that Lin Hexi was deliberately setting him up.

You Chong let out a light chuckle and didn’t respond further.

Lin Hexi showed a look of feigned disappointment and didn’t press the matter. He picked up a soup dumpling from the plate in front of him and popped it into his mouth.

From the moment they left the breakfast shop to when they crossed the square at the school entrance, neither of them brought up the topic again.

They parted ways in front of the building where Lin Hexi had his class.

Lin Hexi took a couple of steps forward but was called back by You Chong from behind. “Let’s have lunch together after class.”

He turned around and nodded in agreement.

But You Chong still showed no signs of leaving, silently watching him.

Lin Hexi walked back to him. “Is there something else?”

You Chong paused for a moment and then said to him, “Let’s find some time to go to the supermarket and buy some household supplies.”

Lin Hexi agreed, “Alright.”

Yet You Chong still didn’t leave.

Lowering his voice, Lin Hexi teasingly called him, “Brother You Chong.” His eyes curved with a playful glint. “You’re not having a hard time parting with me, are you?”

Upon hearing this, You Chong squinted slightly and said, “If you want to call me ‘brother,’ you’ll have plenty of chances to do so in the future.”

A hint of curiosity mixed with suspicion appeared in Lin Hexi’s expression. “Are you hinting at something?”

You Chong glanced down at his phone with a calm expression, not responding to Lin Hexi’s teasing.

Following You Chong’s gaze, Lin Hexi noticed the time on his phone and reminded him, “If you don’t leave now, you’ll be late.”

You Chong put away his phone and finally spoke, “Weren’t you wondering if I liked you back then?”

Lin Hexi froze, clearly not expecting this to be what You Chong wanted to say.

“You think I’d react just because anyone hums a little?” You Chong glanced at him, with a mix of frustration and helplessness in his face. “Do you really think that would work on me?”

Lin Hexi didn’t say anything, but the smile in his eyes slowly spread.

After You Chong finished speaking, he turned to leave.

But Lin Hexi called out to him again.

This time, You Chong turned back and asked, “What is it now?”

Lin Hexi stood still, smiling at him with a hint of mischief. “Me too.”

He added, “It’s not just anyone I’m willing to sleep with.”

By the time Lin Hexi entered the classroom, he was already late.

There was no sign of the professor on the podium. Lin Hexi sat in the back row, played on his phone for about two minutes, and then saw a class representative stand up and announce, “The teacher is stuck in traffic, so we’re supposed to study on our own in the classroom for now.”

Lin Hexi put away his phone, signed the attendance sheet, and left through the back door.

Their classroom was on the sixth floor. While waiting for the elevator, Lin Hexi glanced at the class schedule You Chong had sent him and decided to go find You Chong in his classroom.

You Chong was attending a large lecture for his major, with students from two classes sharing the room. When Lin Hexi found the classroom according to the schedule, he saw through the window that there were only a few empty seats left.

He didn’t rush to push the door open but leaned against the window outside to spot where You Chong was sitting.

You Chong was seated in the middle of the classroom, with no extra seats available in front, behind, or on either side of him.

Lin Hexi felt a bit disappointed but didn’t let it bother him too much.

Taking advantage of the moment when the teacher on the podium turned his back, he quietly pushed open the back door and slipped into the classroom without making a sound.

The boys in the back row turned their heads at the noise. Seeing an unfamiliar face, they assumed he was a tardy student from another class and unceremoniously returned their attention to the front.

Lin Hexi sat down by the window in the last row.

The person next to him was sprawled on the desk, sound asleep. Lin Hexi listened to the teacher’s lecture for a couple of minutes but didn’t understand a thing.

Lin Hexi leaned against the wall, playing on his phone, occasionally glancing up to catch a glimpse of You Chong’s back in the classroom.

Halfway through the class, Zhou Xuan got up from the middle of the room to head out the back door for the restroom. Out of the corner of his eye, he inadvertently spotted Lin Hexi sitting in the corner, engrossed in his phone.

After the initial surprise, Zhou Xuan paused in the middle of the aisle, with a mix of bewilderment in his expression.

Lin Hexi remained calm, even raising the corners of his lips at him silently from across most of the classroom.

To Lin Hexi’s surprise, Zhou Xuan didn’t show any irritation. Instead, he quickly looked away, and his face indifferent as he walked out of the classroom.

Feeling a bit disinterested, Lin Hexi lowered his head and opened a game app on his phone.

Two minutes later, the back door of the classroom opened, and Zhou Xuan returned. But instead of going back to his seat, he walked over to Lin Hexi, squatted down, and whispered impatiently, “Let’s switch seats. You go sit where I was.”

Lin Hexi was surprised and caught off guard, but he didn’t ask any questions. He stood up and walked towards the empty seat in the middle of the classroom.

Ignoring the gazes from others around him, he calmly sat down next to You Chong.

You Chong didn’t even glance to the side, clearly unaware that the person beside him had changed.

The teacher was still lecturing at the podium, and to avoid drawing too much attention, Lin Hexi thought for a moment. Using the desk as cover, he discreetly reached his hand towards You Chong’s right thigh under the desk.

Lin Hexi’s warm palm rested on You Chong’s thigh, but You Chong continued listening to the lecture without looking away.

Surprised, Lin Hexi raised his eyebrow, and, unwilling to give up, slid his hand further inward along You Chong’s thigh.

You Chong pressed his legs together, trapping Lin Hexi’s hand between them, preventing him from moving further in, but he didn’t pull Lin Hexi’s hand away either.

Could it be that You Chong and Zhou Xuan were close enough to touch each other’s thighs regularly?

Growing even more suspicious, Lin Hexi extended his leg under the desk, slowly hooking it around You Chong’s calf, brushing against it in an intimate and teasing manner.

You Chong finally reacted. Instead of ignoring him, he pulled Lin Hexi’s hand out and held it tightly, intertwining their fingers together.

It dawned on Lin Hexi that no matter how close two straight men were, they wouldn’t normally hold hands like this.

Realizing this belatedly, he retracted his leg that had been brushing against You Chong and leaned close to his ear, whispering, “You knew it was me?”

You Chong turned his head slightly, and said with a subtle hint of amusement in his voice. “Zhou Xuan sent me a message.”

Lin Hexi nodded in understanding. “You asked him to swap seats with me?”

You Chong nodded again and then asked, “Did you skip class to come here?”

Lin Hexi chuckled softly and countered, “What’s this? Are you trying to control me on the first day of dating?”

You Chong didn’t respond.

Although the situation today involved the teacher being late, Lin Hexi often skipped classes on his own accord.

It was easy to guess that You Chong wasn’t the type to skip classes at the beginning of the semester only to cram for exams at the end. To be more precise, the main campus of A University had an impressively low truancy rate every year.

Feeling a bit guilty, Lin Hexi offered an explanation, “I didn’t choose this major when I got into the school.” He furrowed his brows slightly. “I don’t like this major, and I skipped today because the teacher didn’t show up.”

After thinking for a moment, Lin Hexi added, “I’ve skipped classes a lot less this semester compared to the past two years.”

You Chong found his response somewhat amusing. “That’s not what I meant.”

Lin Hexi looked puzzled.

You Chong turned his head, his dark, deep eyes glinting with a hint of amusement as he gazed at him. “I just wanted to ask you, if you don’t like your major, would you be willing to attend classes in Xia Chengfeng’s department?”